Weather bureau forecasts an early spring for Australia

July 23, 2010

Australians have been shivering through one of the coldest winters in the country's history, but the has issued a nationwide forecast for the coming months which predicts warmer conditions in most parts of the country excluding Tasmania.

The southern hemisphere's Spring Equinox occurs in September, but the forecast suggests unseasonal weather conditions across the nation for August and September. Temperatures in Queensland and Western Australia are predicted to soar well above the average, with heavy, torrential springtime rains arriving well in advance, and is expected to have both negative and positive effects on the agricultural industries of the states.

The south of Australia is similarly anticipating warmer-than-average conditions with Victoria, South Australia, and southern Western Australia anticipating balmy to humid weather. This comes in contrast to parts of New South Wales, which experienced their coldest night on record, while Melbourne, Victoria dealt with its coldest morning in 15 months.

Forecasters hypothesise that warmer temperatures in the Indian and Pacific Oceans could be responsible for the onset of an "early spring".