CPL Meteorology · Mock exam

Why does southern Australia generally have wetter winters and drier summers, despite the warmer summer temperatures?

• A.In summer the subtropical ridge sits south, keeping the westerlies and their fronts south of the mainland; in winter it moves north, letting the fronts cross southern Australia
• B.There is no real seasonal difference in rainfall across southern Australia; the apparent pattern is purely a statistical artefact of the records
• C.Tropical monsoonal flow extends to southern Australia in summer, bringing heavy rainfall to Victoria and South Australia from December through February each year
• D.The Indian Ocean Dipole influences only the summer climate of southern Australia, suppressing winter rainfall entirely