WINTER in Bathurst was more like summer with the lack of rain and warmer than average temperatures.
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Now it seems like the region will be catching up on the rain it missed out on when summer does hit.
According to Weatherzone meteorologist Graham Brittain, Bathurst can expect different conditions than it would normally see between November and January.
“It looks like it is going to be wetter than average and the temperatures will be cooler than average,” he said.
“It looks like the main driver of that will be a dominant main shore wind regime, directing cooler air from the Tasman over the continent.”
Mr Brittain said other climate drivers, such as El Niño, will remain neutral.
“It is mainly going to be those onshore winds driving the cooler temperatures,” he said.
Bathurst has had warmer summers in recent years, but Mr Brittain said the conditions expected for the region, plus much of eastern NSW, would be comparable to the summer of 2011-12.
“That was the last time we had a wetter than average summer and cooler than average temperatures,” he said.
In March of 2012, an article in the Western Advocate reported that “summer bypassed Bathurst” after heavy rainfall throughout the summer months.
During December, 2011, Bathurst received 133.2mm, well above the long-term average at the time of of 80.9mm; January rainfall was 57.2mm, below the long-term average of 64.2mm.
Rainfall for February recorded at Bathurst Airport was more than twice the average at 131.6mm, the highest February recording in the 16 years records had been kept at that location.
The hottest temperature recorded for the summer was 32.1 degrees, while all three of the summer months had average maximum temperatures well below the long-term averages.
The conditions had caused problems for local winemakers, with the lack of sunshine making it difficult for the grapes to develop.
Cool days also increased the risk of disease and split fruit.
Landowners were also coming into trouble, with the conditions causing a resurgence of the weed fleabane.
Last summer, Bathurst experienced heatwave-like conditions, with the mercury regularly reaching the high 30s.
By the beginning of February, there had only been 7mm of rain recorded for the entire year.