IT MIGHT not feel like it after the past week of cold, wet days, but a dry, warm winter is on the horizon.
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In an outlook for winter, the Bureau of Meteorology said the warmth people experienced throughout most of autumn will continue over the next three months of winter.
Dr Andrew Watkins, the bureau's long-range forecasting manger, said the odds of warmer than normal days during winter will be high throughout the state, including Wagga.
"Autumn has been a mixed bag, certainly in terms of temperature - it has been very warm, one of the top five warmest autumns on record," he said.
"It is likely to see those warmer conditions continue over the winter period. There are quite high odds above 80 per cent of having warmer than normal days."
While the winter season is shaping up to be warmer, the nights are expected to be colder.
Dr Watkins said the clear skies during the day are expected to continue through the night, increasing the risk of frost.
The forecast for dry conditions will not come as good news for farmers who are looking for consistent rainfall to help break drought conditions.
The city has exceeded its monthly rainfall average for May by 10.6 millimetres, with about 61.2 recorded.
"Rainfall, unfortunately, is looking quite dry for much of the state with quite high odds of getting above 70 percent and in central parts of the state being drier than average," Dr Watkins said.
Overall, he said there will be generally drier and warmer days this winter with an increased risk of frost in some areas.
"We are seeing an El Nino like pattern fading away in the Pacific Ocean and that is going to have some influence in the early part of the season," Dr Watkins said.
"But, we are also seeing a positive Indian Ocean Dipole developing out in the Indian Ocean, particularly for more southern parts of the state that will tend to have a more dry and warming influence in the southern parts of NSW."
This week, colder than average temperatures and blizzard-like conditions saw 60 centrimetres of snow fall over the Snowy Mountains
This caused some resorts, including Selwyn Snow Resort and Perisher, to open its snowfields to skiers and snowboarders sooner than anticipated.
"It is great to see snow early on, but unfortunately early snow doesn't correlate or relate to the snow season in general," Dr Watkins said.
"We are seeing some patterns that will bring some warmer, drier conditions and unfortunately that means we could have a much shorter season or earlier end to the season with lower, shallower depths."
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