beretta - the last series El Nino was particularly strong which in part caused the last big drought - there was in fact a series of El ninos of varying strength. This was followed by a series of strong La Nina events which caused the wide spread flooding. El Nino is not the only driver of weather in Australia - the Indian Ocean Dipole has significant impacts on NWE and SE Australia, the Southern Annual Mode has impacts on SE Australia. El nino and La Nina have more impact on the East Coast of Australia than anywhere else. The timing and strength of the monsoon is very important for the Northern parts of Australia
Thankfully through the billions( nay trillions ) of dollars spent on climate research we now have a much better understanding on the effects of the various underlying weather drivers and can apply that knowledge to better seasonal predictions for rainfall to assist landholders be more efficient with their country. Wasted research indeed.
