Weather bureau issues dire La Niña update for Australian summer

Wet weather is likely to continue throughout summer for many parts of Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed this week.

The Bureau issued a bleak update for the east coast saying "above average" rainfall will likely continue throughout the warmer months as La Niña hangs around until early 2023.

Australia has already copped more rain than usual which has contributed to severe flooding across parts of Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

And there's no relief just yet.

"La Niña conditions increase the chance of above average spring and summer rainfall in northern and eastern Australia," the BoM declared on Tuesday.

The negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) event also continues but is set to "rapidly decay" by the end of spring.

"When a La Nina and a negative phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole coincide, the likelihood of above average rainfall over Australia, particularly over the eastern half of the continent, is further increased".

What is La Nina?

This is the third La Nina weather event in a row with the country experiencing wetter-than-usual summers over the past three years.

La Niña is part of a natural climate cycle over the tropical Pacific Ocean and occurs when "equatorial trade winds become stronger, changing ocean surface currents and drawing cooler deep water up from below," the Bureau explains.

Usually, sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific vary between being warmer than average (El Niño) and cooler than average (La Niña) — this year we've seen cooler than average temperatures.

La Nina will usually result in increased rainfall, cooler daytime temperatures south of the tropics and warmer overnight temperatures in the north.

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More flooding likely to come

Weatherzone said the third consecutive La Niña event will most likely lead to frequent and widespread bursts of heavy rain in eastern Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Weatherzone Senior Meteorologist Brett Dutschke previously told Yahoo News Australia the weather pattern could spell disaster for those who’ve already been inundated with rain this year.

"Given that eastern and central Australia has had above average rain for the past few months, certainly along the east coast, the soil is fairly saturated," he said

"It is the most saturated it has been in decades so we don’t need as much rain as what we have had in order to cause flooding."

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