For the past week, a long belt of strong high pressure has persisted well south of Western Australia with a ridge extending into the Great Australian Bight.
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It has acted as a blocking situation, preventing any active frontal systems approaching from the west, and, also any inland low pressures extending southwards into NSW and Victoria. To date, there is no indication when this blocking situation will break down.
As a consequence, the dry and cool conditions will continue next week, apart from southern Victoria, which has had showery conditions the past week with south to southwesterly winds.
Melbourne has had 126 millimetres this month, already the wettest for April since 1996, and further showers are expected next week.
Minimum temperatures will continue below the April normal trend in our region with many towns getting their first frost of the season.
Down south at Macquarie Island it has been very wet during both February and March this year, which is a striking contrast to the very dry conditions nearly all our districts had during those two months.
The total rainfall at Macquarie Island during those two months was 252 millimetres, the wettest since 299 millimetres in 2001. Other very wet February to March periods were in 2000, 1992 and 1988.
Macquarie Island also had its coldest March since 1998 and before that in 1988.
On the other side of the continent, Cocos Keeling Island, the first three months of this year, has been notably warmer and has continued well into April.
In addition to the highest temperature, it has topped 32 degrees for each of the four months for the first time in 72 years of records .
Other notable warm first four months of any year at Cocos Island were in 1998, 2020 and 2022; and it was fairly warm back in early 1958.
After looking at these findings for both islands, the remainder of this year will be wetter than average.
The current dry spell may break by the end of April.
