This week a friend was driving south from Canberra and was surprised to see a dramatic increase in the level of Lake George.
This short video is constructed from a collection of single shots.
I last wrote about Lake George in 2012, when the shots comprising this video were taken. Since then it has been largely dry but with a succession of east coast low-pressure systems bringing rain and stormy condition to Eastern Australia, it has filled again, quite rapidly.
This short video from Tim the Yowie Man shows how Lake George was looking on 9 August.
East Coast Lows (ECL)
East Coast Low-pressure (ECL) systems cause major flooding in eastern Australia.
This winter in Australia there have been several east coast low-pressure systems.
The chart shows one east coast low-pressure that has now passed beyond the coast. The high now over the southeast coastline will see drier conditions but the low now approaching the Great Australia Bight is likely to bring more rain to eastern Australia.
For a complete description of ECLs visit the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) site.
The La Niña phase of the southern oscillation (ENSO) increases rainfall over eastern Australia. A La Niña event increases the intensity of ECLs. At the moment Australia is on the cusp of a La Niña, as the following chart shows.
The BOM site explains that “The A La Niña WATCH is not a guarantee that a La Niña will occur, rather it is an indication that some of the typical precursors of a La Niña event are in place. “
For more read the latest Climate Outlook report.
With the likelihood of a La Niña, we can expect the water in Lake George to be there for a while.
La Niña in 2012
Our kayaking trip in 2012 followed a series of La Niña events from 2010, the last being eight months before our trip. So, there was till enough water for us to paddle.