Scorching heatwaves, torrential rain – all in a matter of days. It’s not just bad luck

By Juliana Neild, Research Assistant, The University of Melbourne
Alexander Borowiak, PhD Candidate in climate stabilisation, The University of Melbourne
Andrew King, ARC Future Fellow and Associate Professor in Climate Science, ARC Centre of Excellence for 21st Century Weather, The University of Melbourne
Linden Ashcroft, Senior Lecturer, Climate Science and Science Communication, The University of Melbourne

After a heatwave, we crave relief, not more extreme weather. But increasingly, we have to contend with a succession of extremes – ricocheting from extreme heat to intense storms to flooding waterways.

We saw this in the Victorian Otways region last summer, when extreme heat, fires and floods all occurred in the space of two weeks.

We studied this sudden “weather whiplash”, where a heatwave is followed by heavy rainfall, in more detail to understand which…

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