Warm, wet spring could bring severe storms

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Warm, wet spring could bring severe storms

Emergency services are preparing for a stormy spring as the clean-up continues after wild winds swept across southeast Australia.

Higher than average temperatures and moisture levels could spell more wild weather ahead, the Bureau of Meteorology says.

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

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

Mr Bernasconi said the bureau was on a La Nina watch, with three of seven indicators pointing to a climate event – which tends to bring wetter weather to the southeast – in spring.

Indicators for La Nina and the Indian Ocean Dipole were currently neutral, he said.

Parts of NSW, Victoria and Tasmania are still cleaning up after powerful storms battered southeast Australia at the end of August, downing thousands of trees, causing blackouts and resulting in two deaths.

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 occur, and we know that this storm season they will be more frequent and more severe,” Ms Platz said.

“So it’s incumbent on each and every one of us to make sure that we are prepared.”

She said residents should clear out drains and downpipes, trim trees and dangerous branches and have an emergency plan ready for when storms hit.

Ms Platz urged residents to download the Hazards Near Me app.

“That’s really important so that you can get up-to-date information on any severe weather or flooding across NSW,” she said.

With summer around the corner and multiple minor fires already sparked in several states, NSW Minister for Emergency Services ****** Dib conceded bushfire season preparation had been difficult.

“Hazard reduction – we haven’t been able to meet the targets, and I think we’ve been pretty clear with that,” he told reporters on Saturday.

“We’ve seen effectively, almost rain every second or third day on average, which means that having a hazard reduction ***** is really difficult to do.”

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