HOTTER and drier.
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They’re not the words drought-stricken farmers want to hear, but, sadly, they are the ones the Bureau of Meteorology have used to describe Orange’s weather forecast for the next few months.
The climate outlook released by the BoM showed there is a strong likelihood of continuing dry conditions from November to January.
Data showed there was a 75 per cent chance of exceeding the median maximum temperatures for November, December and January in Orange.
Large parts of south-eastern Australia are also likely to be drier than average.
- Bureau of Meteorology senior climatologist Dr Lynette Bettio
The same forecasting data predicted Orange had only a 35 per cent chance of hitting or passing its average rainfall marks for the same three-month stretch.
According to long-term means November (76.7 millimetres), December (80.9 millimetres) and January (86 millimetres) should dump in excess of 240 millimetres into rain gauges.
BoM senior climatologist Dr Lynette Bettio said climate influences were driving the drier outlook.
“Large parts of south-eastern Australia are also likely to be drier than average from November to January, meaning the chance of widespread relief from current dry conditions are lower for the coming months,” she said.
“Warmer and drier than usual conditions in this late-spring-to-summer period increases the risk of heatwaves and bushfires.”
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