English weather Down Under

Tommorrow we celebrate the first anniversary of our departure from London.  I cannot believe it's been a year already.  I know everyone says that but honestly, it really does feel like only a few months have passed.

It seems Garry and I returned just as a La Nina weather cycle began sweeping across Australia. La Nina typically brings a greater chance of clouds, rain and humidity which has certainly been our experience. Since January we’ve seen Brisbane stuck by record floods and the nation's largest cyclone in memory strike Queensland.  Meanwhile, Sydney has been regularly doust by rain and cooler than average temperatures.

Last week Sydney recorded its coldest start to Summer in half a century. For the first seven days of December temperatures struggled to rise above 20°C. December 7 proved the warmest day when temperatures peaked at 22°C. The city's long-term average maximum for this time of year is 25°C. It was 1960 the last time Sydney was this cold.  It's hard not to compare this experience with London which recently enjoyed its warmest October on record.

UPDATE: December 23, 2011
The wet start to Summer has had a noticable impact on one iconic measure of tlocal weather conditions.  Today's news was filled with reports that water levels at Warragamba Dam, Sydney's primary water source, have exceeded 80 per cent for the first time since June 2002.  Dam levels fell as low as 33 per cent as recently as February 2007.  According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the last time dams in the Sydney region were technically full was 1998.