Hot summer ahead

Fed: Get ready for a hot summer: Bureau Drought

CANBERRA, Oct 18 AAP - Get ready for a hot summer, the Bureau of
Meteorology has warned.

In its latest seasonal temperature outlook, covering the November to
January period, the bureau said today there was a 60 per cent chance most
of the country would experience above-average temperatures.

This calendar year is already shaping up to be one of the warmest on
record, with the January to September period the hottest since records
were first kept.

The bureau said there was a 60 to 65 per cent chance of above-average
temperatures for most of Queensland, NSW, Victoria, and parts of South
Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

While days will be warmer, get set for even more uncomfortable nights.
The bureau says there is up to a 75 per cent chance of above-average
night-time temperatures for parts of southern Queensland and parts of
northern NSW.

For almost the rest of the country, the bureau says there is a
60 to 70 per cent chance of higher overnight temperatures.

The bureau says there's a 50-50 chance of getting normal rainfall.
Northern and central Australia have up to a 60 per cent chance of
getting above-average rainfall, while for eastern Australia there is a 40 to
45 per cent per cent chance of normal rainfall.

Climatologist Blair Trewin said there had been an improvement in the
bureau's predictions for rain.

``Our last outlook was suggesting quite a high chance of below-normal
rainfall, particularly in parts of south-eastern Australia, and this
outlook has backed off a little bit,'' he told ABC Radio.

``It's still leaning slightly towards a higher chance of drier
conditions in parts of south-eastern Australia - 55 per cent to 60 per cent but
that's backed off from the 60 per cent to 70 per cent we were seeing
last month.''