Climate in-brief
The MJO is showing a strong pulse over Africa in Phases 8 and 1, which historically sees all the moisture pulled westwards away from Australia.
The next 3-4 weeks is showing a drier trend, consistent with a fortnight ago, as high air pressure over Australia continues to take up residence.
A check on international seasonal model predictions for the May-July period shows no signal for wetter or drier conditions. However, those global models predicting a wet phase Indian Ocean are bullish for spring rainfall looking further out.
Very little Tropical Cyclone or activity of any consequence showing for the Australian continent for the remainder of April and the first week of May
The chart above shows higher air pressure over SE Australia in the last 7-days. This anomaly has strengthened in the last week.
Australian daily and weekly rainfall observations
Some spectacular falls in CQ and the rest along the Qld coastline. Click thru to access the map
Weekly rain shows some handy falls across N Qld and N NSW.
Australian 7-day rainfall map courtesy http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/maps/rainfall/?variable=rainfall&map=totals&period=week®ion=nat&year=2020&month=12&day=17