Wet weather to drench Australia as La Niña declared

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has issued more than a dozen flood warnings for regional NSW rivers.

According to meteorologists, atmospheric moisture left behind in the system that crossed northern NSW and southern Queensland at the weekend, combined with winds circulating, has brought moisture over eastern parts of the country.

Other reasons for the wet weather include humid tropical air that is streaming across the country from the Indian Ocean, where Tropical Cyclone Paddy was named yesterday.

There is also another low-pressure system spinning over the Great Australian Bight.

BoM meteorologist Jackson Brown described La Niña as the movement of warm waters across the Pacific Basin.

“We have warm waters sitting off the east Australian coast and with those warm waters, you see additional energy available to drive a wetter system,” he said.

“It makes heavy rainfall a lot more likely through vast stretches of eastern Australia.”

People in NSW and Queensland have been advised to stay alert as many areas were at risk of severe thunderstorms and flooding.

Showers are forecast in Brisbane today with a top of 26 degrees, with a shower or two also expected in Sydney and a maximum temperature of 26 degrees.

Rain is also expected in Melbourne, Adelaide, Hobart and Canberra today, while in Perth and Darwin it will be warm and sunny.