The impact of La Niña on paddleboarders
As a paddleboarding instructor, trip host and educator, typically the most common word or topic I speak of with our community is WIND.
I love to chat wind as it’s normally one of the key variables that will impact our paddling experience.
During the SUP season wind forecasting apps are the first thing I look at when I wake up, and the last thing I look at before I sleep. Some may even perceive me as wind obsessed!
However this season (particularly this Summer and Autumn) I would be a rich woman (spending my money by paddleboarding my way around the most exotic places in the world) if I had a dollar for every time I spoke of the rain!
We’ve had a lot of rain over the last 6 months.
If you don’t live on the East Coast of Australia, let me tell you… it’s been wet.
Like, seriously wet.
Like, time to build an ark kinda wet…
And this is due to the La Niña weather system.
“La Niña (which is Spanish for The Girl) is a complex weather pattern that pushes warm water towards the western side of the Pacific, including Australia and Asia. As a consequence of the warmer water, more evaporation means more rainfall over Australia. It also leads to cyclones being formed with more intensity.
It is the counterpart to El Niño (Spanish for The Boy) a weather pattern which leads to warmer weather and drought conditions.” (9news.com.au)
So if you wondered why your SUP session was rescheduled 3 times this season? …La Niña
If you feel like you bought a SUP during lockdown last year but just ‘haven’t taken it out much’ this year? …well your weather windows have probably been cut down by at least 50% this year thanks to La Niña!
If you thought that She SUPs’ Sydney schedule was quiet over Feb/March? That’s because La Niña brought us 7-8 weeks of back to back rain and floods so any form of paddling was impossible!!
With this weather system having such a dramatic impact on us as paddlers, but also the outdoor industry in general, I thought it was about time we talked about it in detail via a blog.
In order to ensure the accuracy of the information provided regarding La Niña, the following information has been sourced from the Bureau of Meteorology and other weather forecasting websites credited below. See links for further info.
So what is La Niña and what does it mean for our weather conditions?
“La Niña is the positive phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation. It is associated with cooler than average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean and La Niña conditions generally result in above average rainfall over much of Australia.
In summary La Niña will often result in…
Increased rainfall across much of Australia
Cooler daytime temperatures (south of the tropics)
Warmer overnight temperatures (in the north)
Shift in temperature extremes
Decreased frost risk
Greater tropical cyclone numbers
Earlier monsoon onset
Here’s a fantastic infographic from BOM.gov.au
What causes La Niña?
Here is an explanation from BOM.gov.au: “La Niña occurs when equatorial trade winds become stronger, changing ocean surface currents and drawing cooler deep water up from below. This results in a cooling of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The enhanced trade winds also help to pile up warm surface waters in the western Pacific and to the north of Australia.
The warming of ocean temperatures in the western Pacific means the area becomes more favourable for rising air, cloud development and rainfall. As a result, heavy rainfall can occur to the north of Australia. Conversely, over the eastern and central tropical Pacific, air descends over the cooler waters, meaning the region is less favourable for cloud and rain. The air rising in the west and descending in the east enhances an atmospheric circulation – called the Walker circulation – which can result in changes to the climate felt across the globe.”
When will it stop raining?
“La Niña events tend to begin in autumn, mature during winter, spring and early summer, then begin to decay in late summer. Events generally end in the autumn. The greatest impact normally occurs during the winter, spring and early summer period. La Niña events normally last for around a year, however they can be shorter, or much longer.” …and this year, it seems to be lasting much longer!
“The Pacific Ocean has been in a La Niña phase during the last two Southern Hemisphere summers. The first occurred between late-September 2020 and March 2021. This was followed by the current La Niña, which commenced in November 2021 and is still underway.
While the current La Niña started to weaken from January, it regained some strength in March due to abrupt cooling of the central equatorial Pacific Ocean. This restrengthening of La Niña coincided with record-breaking rain and widespread flooding in eastern Australia during late-February and March.
Following this cooling in the central equatorial Pacific, La Niña has lasted well into autumn and so has the wet weather over eastern Australia.
Most models suggest that La Niña will continue to weaken in the coming weeks and most likely break down in late autumn or early winter.
Even while weakening, La Niña will increase the likelihood of rain in northern and eastern Australia during the next one or two months.” (Weatherzone, 2022)
BOM.com.au has an amazing climate outlook feature (click here) which shows maps that indicate the chance of exceeding median rainfall over the coming weeks and months. At the time of writing this blog, it looks like we could have some breaks in our intense rainfall at the beginning of June, however the winter months are still looking to be wetter than average!
So what does that mean for paddleboarders?
It’s time to either invest in some serious wet weather gear (I’m talking waterproof jackets AND pants) because after-all, there’s no such thing as ‘bad weather’ right? Or it’s time to practice the art of patience and get prepared to pounce on those occasional dry days!
While this season has certainly been the wettest She SUPs has had since we began, there have been some beautiful days in amongst the rain, you just need to know how to look out for them.
With a little patience, and an understanding of wind and weather forecasting apps, you can jump on those dry and calm days for your epic SUP adventures, and utilise the rainy days for paddle planning!
It is possible - so don’t give up on your SUP adventure goals for this Summer just yet!
>> Side note: if you’re unsure about reading the wind and weather apps and knowing when to ‘pounce’, you should check out this!
Don’t forget to support the outdoor industry!
Finally, with all of this wet and rainy talk, I really encourage you to keep supporting your local outdoor adventure businesses, whether that’s SUP, kayak, climbing, canoeing, hiking etc. Having really suffered over the last couple of years due to the impact of the pandemic, the outdoor industry really needed a big season this Summer to support all of its small businesses keep their doors open. However as you may have experienced, it’s been a complete wash-out for everyone in the outdoor industry who run weather dependent tours and trips, thanks to this intense weather system, which has turned so many people off heading outside!
I’ve witnessed peers in the industry close their doors either for good, or early in the season to take on other jobs, so please, continue to support the outdoor adventure industry! I guarantee, most if not all (including She SUPs) will have solid refund and rescheduling policies if the conditions are unsafe to head out in wet weather. So with such uncertain weather outlooks and the occasional bright clear days constantly popping up to surprise us when we least expect them, if you’re considering a tour, a trip or an outdoor adventure experience, just book in and if it’s not looking good, they’ll assist you in rescheduling! Easy!
Found this blog post interesting or want to share your La Niña experience? Let me know in the comments!
I’ll be bringing out another blog on the topic of rain later this month!
Happy paddling :) x
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