Warm, wet spring could bring heavy storms to southeastern Australia | Australia Weather

Emergency services are bracing for a stormy spring as they work to clean up after heavy winds swept across southeastern Australia.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, higher than average temperatures and humidity levels could bring even more wild weather.

“Severe storms can bring damaging winds, heavy rainfall and intense rainfall, and that rain can lead to lightning strikes in the worst case scenario,” Steven Bernasconi, manager of hazard preparedness and response, told reporters at the NSW State Emergency Service’s spring storm briefing on Saturday.

“It can also lead to massive hail and lightning.”

Bernasconi said the agency was issuing a La Niña alert, with three of seven indicators pointing to a climate event — which typically brings wetter weather to the Southeast — in the spring.

According to him, the indicators for La Niña and the Indian Ocean Dipole are currently neutral.

Parts of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania are still cleaning up after severe storms hit southeastern Australia in late August, knocking down thousands of trees, causing power outages and killing two people.

The NSW SES has responded to more than 21,000 storm-related incidents in the past year.

NSW SES Acting Commissioner Debbie Platz urged the public to be vigilant.

“You never know when a storm is going to come, and we know they are going to be more frequent and more intense this storm season,” Platz said.

“So it is the responsibility of each of us to make sure we are prepared.”

She said residents should clear drains and downspouts, prune trees and dangerous branches, and have an emergency plan ready in case of a storm.

Platz urged residents to download the Hazards Near Me app.

“That’s really important so you get up to date information about extreme weather events or flooding in New South Wales,” she said.

With summer approaching and several small fires already burning across several states, New South Wales Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib admitted preparing for the bushfire season had been difficult.

“Hazard reduction – we have failed to meet the targets, and I think we have been quite clear about that,” he told reporters on Saturday.

“We’ve seen rain on average almost every second or third day, which means it’s very difficult to create a fire that reduces the hazards.”