It’s official: Sydney has just recorded its driest start to winter in 85 years. Over at Observatory Hill (where Sydney city’s weather gets recorded), only 22mm of rain has been recorded falling since winter started almost two months ago. This is a stark contrast to the intensity of last year’s rainfall, with it quite literally being the wettest year ever recorded in Sydney’s history. Now, the pendulum has swung right back, with this year’s rainfall coming in way below the usual winter average of 310mm per year. This makes this year’s winter beginning the driest since 1938.
Why is it so dry? According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the large amount of westerly winds (read: dry, hot) that’ve hit Sydney are the reason for a lack of rain along the coast. Southerly winds are known for bringing us rain from the wintery wilds of the Tasman, but only four southerlies have been recorded in June this year.
What does this mean for snow conditions in NSW?
The dry start to winter is good news for all snow fans. With the winds all coming from the north and west and sunshine blazing in Sydney, the perfect conditions are on right now for alpine snow in NSW – with natural snow currently rising to over one metre on the highest points of NSW’s ski slopes, and Falls Creek recorded a hefty depth of 90cm this week.
In science speak, this is all due to the ‘Southern Annular Mode’ or SAM. The SAM is a climate driver that measures the westerly winds that roll around Antarctica. The SAM is currently in a negative phase, which means that a lot of westerly winds are coming in hot across much of southern Australia, exacerbating snowfall.
Although there’s lots of snow on the ground right now, it doesn’t look like we’re in for consistent falls of the same magnitude throughout the rest of winter, with no major snow predicted to be coming along in the next week.
Note: Even though it might feel a bit confusing, whenever it rains in Sydney in winter, snow ain’t good – but when it’s sunny, it’s a sign to get into your cold weather gear and hit the road.
Good news for city slickers, good news for skiers and snowboarders – possibly not great news for our farmers.
Now, we just have to wait to see what's next.