Flood warnings for northern NSW as long weekend turns into a washout

Elle Hunt.

Parts of northern New South Wales are being warned to expect further heavy rainfall and the possibility of floods over the public holiday weekend, with the outlook for the rest of the country clouded by the possibility of showers.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for the northern rivers and parts of the mid north coast districts mid-morning on Sunday, with a low-pressure trough along the NSW north coast causing heavy rainfall and thunderstorms.

Up to 200mm of rain and flash flooding was forecast from Port Macquarie up to Lismore through to early next week, following two days of heavy and persistent rainfall. Forecasters said Lismore, Grafton, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Sawtell and Dorrigo could be affected.

Read Elle Hunt’s story on The Guardian - “Flood warnings for northern NSW as long weekend turns into a washout.”

Cranking Up The Intensity: Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events

Climate change is now influencing all extreme weather events – with some of the most severe climate impacts occurring in 2016, our latest report has found.

Cranking Up The Intensity: Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events finds that while the links between climate change and some extreme weather events such as bushfires and heatwaves are well-established, the evidence linking climate change to storms and heavy rainfall is also growing.

Read the Climate Council story - “Cranking Up The Intensity: Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events.”

Spring is going to be a bad mozzie season: entomologist

(Climate change and the differences that frequently manifest conditions favourable to many pests and viruses, in this case, mosquitos – Robert McLean)

Wet and warm weather makes perfect
breeding conditions for mosquitoes.

Melburnians have been complaining of an increased mosquito presence, saying the pesky insects have been swarming into suburban backyards and hovering around car windscreens, particularly in the bay areas.

This comes as no surprise given the recent heavy rainfall followed by high temperatures, which make for perfect mosquito breeding conditions.

Victoria has had the second wettest September on record in Victoria since 1916.

Museum Victoria's Ken Walker is an entomologist – a specialist in the study of insects.

He said the recent wet weather had created a perfect conditions for mosquitos to breed.

Read the story in the Melbourne Age - “Spring is going to be a bad mozzie season: entomologist.”

Sydney communters hit with heavy rain

BoM meteorologist,
 Ashleigh Lange.

Sydney commuters were hit with heavy rain during the afternoon peak hour as the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) issued a severe thunderstorm warning for other parts of NSW.

Large hail, destructive winds and flash flooding have been predicted for the Hunter, Illawarra, Central Tablelands and the Central West Slopes and Plains of New South Wales.

BoM meteorologist Ashleigh Lange said there had been heavy rainfall over Sydney but the Hunter region was now at the greatest risk from thunderstorms.

Read the ABC story - “Sydney weather: BoM issues severe thunderstorm warning for NSW.”

Global warming brings heavy rainfall records - PIK

H

eavy rainfall events setting ever new records have been increasing strikingly in the past thirty years.

While before 1980, multi-decadal fluctuations in extreme rainfall events are explained by natural variability, a team of scientists of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research detected a clear upward trend in the past few decades towards more unprecedented daily rainfall events.

They find the worldwide increase to be consistent with rising global temperatures which are caused by greenhouse-gas emissions from burning fossil fuels. Short-term torrential rains can lead to high-impact floodings.

Read the report - “Record-breaking heavy rainfall events increased under global warming”.