From February through April moderate to exceptional deficits are forecast for much of Queensland. Primarily moderate deficits are forecast for New South Wales and southern Victoria. Moderate to severe deficits are expected to persist in North Island, New Zealand. Surpluses in the northern part of Western Australia and into the Victoria River Basin of Northern Territory are expected to diminish in severity. The forecast after April looks less eventful with moderate deficits tracing a path from Northern Territory’s Top End down along the eastern coast through New South Wales.
Australia & New Zealand: Water deficits ahead for South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales
The forecast through March indicates widespread and exceptional water deficits in South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales. Deficits of varying severity are forecast for Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, Northern Territory’s Top End, central Tasmania, and North Island, New Zealand. Moderate surpluses are expected in an arc across the northern part of the country from the Kimberly Plateau through northeastern Queensland to the coast. The forecast past March is less eventful, with deficits emerging across Northern Territory, scattered through Victoria and New South Wales, and in Tasmania, and New Zealand.
Australia & New Zealand: Water deficits forecast to persist in Tasmania
Water deficits are forecast to persist through May in Tasmania, the southwestern tip of Western Australia, and from Adelaide through Victoria, though deficits of exceptional severity will diminish considerably in extent. Surpluses are forecast for central Queensland and parts of the Murray-Darling Basin through November. Far north reaches of Australia are expected to transition from deficit to moderate surplus from December through February.
Australia & New Zealand: Water deficits forecast in southwestern Victoria, New Caledonia
Despite recent flooding in northern Tasmania, water deficits are forecast to persist in western Tasmania through April, with greatest severity in August. Deficits in New Caledonia are forecast to persist through October; deficits across some far northern regions of Australia may linger through November; and deficits in the southwest tip of Western Australia, south of Adelaide, and in the Melbourne area will persist through April. Water surpluses are forecast for the Fitzroy River Basin and southwest of there, also in the Upper Murray River catchment.
Australia & New Zealand: Water deficits persist across northern Australia & in New Caledonia
Water deficits are forecast to persist across parts of northern Australia – particularly northernmost regions of the Northern Territory and the southern shore of the Gulf of Carpentaria – and also in the southwest tip of Western Australia, Tasmania, and New Caledonia. From July through September surpluses are forecast to persist near the Barcoo and Fitzroy Rivers in Queensland, and emerge west of Brisbane. Surpluses will continue to emerge north of Adelaide east of Spencer Gulf in South Australia, and will emerge in the center of New South Wales.