Understanding Weather and Climate
The 2006 drought had a combination event of ElNino (Enso), Indian Ocean Dipole positive (Indy) and Southern Annular Mode positive (Sam). The bigger droughts are when the dogs team up at the driest end of their range.
In 2010 our spring has been wetter thanks to both LaNina (Enso) and Indian Ocean Dipole negative (Indy) sending us more moisture. The last time both dogs did this at the same time was in 1975!
Indy was in positive phase (drier) for 2006, 2007 and 2008.....and we haven't had a good IOD negative since the 1990's (ie 1992, 1993 & 1996 were all IOD negative)
In 2010 the Southern Annular Mode (Sam) hit some records for how far south it went (ie how short the chain was) and this is one aspect that explains Western Australia's dry season. It didn't significantly affect Victoria as the LaNina & IOD negative trumped it.
In 2010, Ridgy was well behaved and didn't affect Victoria's rainfall like Enso and Indy. In 2009 however, our hot and dry weather was because Ridgy was much stronger and blocked a lot of rain coming from the south.
Victorian farming communities and businesses know that we have always had fluctuations from wet seasons to dry. Good old fashioned variability.
So what makes the difference between wet seasons and droughts? And how is the climate changing over time?
The Climatedogs were awarded the 2011 SCINEMA prize for Best Short Film. An international prize celebrating films that raise public awareness and trust in science.
Climatedogs
The Climatedogs animation series is an award winning series of short animated videos produced by DPI. The animations explain what drives the climate in Victoria, and how climate drivers are changing over time.
Learn more about what drives rainfall in Victoria
To make it rain in Victoria a source of moist air is needed, which mostly comes from the north, followed by local weather conditions to promote rainfall. For example, cold fronts crossing Victoria from the south often trigger rainfall when they meet warm, moist air.
This process is caused by different climate drivers that influence Victoria's wetter or drier years. Climate drivers vary over the months and years to influence our seasonal rainfall. For example, our driest years have been when two or more of these climate drivers have been in their 'dry phase' at the same time.
Click on the following climate drivers to learn more about what drives our wet and dry seasons:
Climate Update
Our climate is variable. Listen to the latest climate update to get up-to-date information on the position of climate drivers and the forecast for weather conditions in Victoria.
