Maleny Weather

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We extend  our warm best wishes for an enjoyable and relaxing Christmas Day and a healthy and prosperous 2012

Fine weather prevailed on the Ranges in the first half of the week with three days of sunshine and temperatures in the high twenties brought in by a northwest airflow. At 3.00am on Thursday morning winds backed to the south-east resulting in a sudden drop in temperature with maximum struggling to reach twenty degrees. For the remainder of the week an upper level trough generated isolated showers and in some locations moderate falls were reported but of short duration.

The equatorial trough is now well defined to the north of mainland Australia, and cyclone development may follow before the end of December

On Monday morning the 5^th there was a sudden drop of five degrees in the maximum temperature when winds veered to the south east from a high in the south Tasman Sea. On Wednesday an east coast low developed off the Queensland coast as an upper level trough in a northwest cloudband  started to drift eastwards across  the southern interior. This resulted in some good ground-soaking much needed rainfall. Instability in the atmosphere increased on Thursday when the first of three days of thunderstorms brought some substantial fall of rain. Total rainfall so far this the month has exceeded the average rainfall for December.

La Niña conditions have strengthened across the tropical Pacific and BOM suggest it will peak next month and last until the end of summer. An above average rainfall is even more likely as a result.

November this year was the driest month for 17 years with only 37mm over five rain-days. This was 26 per cent below the 118-year average of 139mm.

The synoptic weather pattern was similar to 2006 with NW cloud bands and southern cold fronts bringing storms and structural damage to southern states. The NW cloudbands that is normally responsible for the hinterland’s three-day rain spell have this month avoided SE Queensland and moved further west and south.

The weather pattern for most of the month featured a high pressure system in the northern Tasman Sea. This brought many days of hot dry northerly air streams to the hinterland, giving both maximum and minimum temperatures a two degrees boost over the norm of 24.8°C and 15.8°C respectively.

 La Niña is still active but considerably weaker than the very strong 2010-11 event.