NSW Summary Icon NSW Summary

Monthly indicators Icon Monthly indicators

Crop and pasture condition
Farm water availability
On ground reporting

Drought forecast

Climate outlook and drivers Icon Climate outlook and drivers

Regional breakdown Icon Regional breakdown

Overview
Central Tablelands LLS region
Central West LLS region
Greater Sydney LLS region
Hunter LLS region
Murray LLS region
North Coast LLS region
Northern Tablelands LLS region
North West LLS region
Riverina LLS region
South-East LLS region
Western LLS region

About the program Icon About the program

The Combined Drought Indicator
Acknowledgements
State Seasonal Update Climate outlook and drivers Global climate drivers Southern Annular Mode (SAM)
March 2025

Southern Annular Mode (SAM)

The figure displays the SAM daily index (black line) and forecast summary (green line) (sourced 3 April 2025 from the Bureau of Meteorology).

The latest value can be found on the Bureau of Meteorology’s website.

Sustained values above +1 indicate a positive SAM event, whilst values below -1 indicate a negative event.

The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) refers to the north-south shift of rain-bearing westerly winds and weather systems in the Southern Ocean compared to their usual position. This indicator can be quite volatile and generally influences weather conditions on 1-to-3-week timescales.

Southern Annular Mode Daily Index and Forecast Summary
Sourced from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology
Image for Southern Ocean (Southern Annular Mode – SAM)
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