Early season bushfire outbreak springs a warning for NSW

Parts of New South Wales saw their worst August bushfire conditions in more than a decade yesterday, as strong and dry westerly winds helped fuel numerous blazes across the state, and is worrying sign for the spring ahead.

A negative Southern Annular Model (SAM) has helped drive several cold fronts across southeastern Australia the last couple of weeks, with a notably strong change yesterday causing very strong and dry westerly winds across NSW.

Combined with the prolonged dry conditions (with some places seeing their driest start to a year on record), numerous blazes broke out, with fire conditions more typical of late September or October than August.

Several emergency bushfire warnings were issued, including at Mount Kingiman (near Ulladulla), North Nowra and Bemboka (near Tathra).

With another strong cold front crossing over the weekend, further bushfires are possible. If no rain falls soon this is a worrying sign for the spring ahead as conditions get even warmer, and vegetation dries out further.

Elsewhere in the state, the dry conditions are really starting to be felt. In Broken Hill, emus have begun to come into the town in search of food and water, whilst other animals such as feral cats are now feeding on roadkill to survive.

Some rain right now would be very welcome.

Image 1. Fire front map of the Mount Kingiman fire on 15/08/18 (Source: NSW RFS)