Southern Oscillation Index

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20
15
10
5
0
Southern Oscillation Index
-5
-10
El Nino
-15
-20
-25
autumn
winter
spring
summer
autumn
Some dry areas
Low winter rainfall
Low spring rainfall
Monsoon late and generally poor
Drought often broken by heavy rains/floods
Rainfall anomalies in north/east Australia
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Paths of Cyclones
El Niño years
La Niña years
Slide 21.10 Queensland Centre for Climate
Applications
Source Peter Hastings, University of Queensland
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Management Uses Of Climate Forecasting.

• Stocking Rates (SOI pasture growth).
• Purchasing/Selling Stock.
• Mating Dates.
• Planting/Sowing Dates (climate management eg
  frost, rain)
• Seed/Fertiliser Application Rates.
• Crop/Plant Variety Choices (disease resistance eg
  rust).
• Woody Weed Control (burning, spray application
  etc).
• Purchasing/Selling Fodder/Feed Grain.
• Frost Risk Management (wheat, cotton-cold snap).
• Stream Flow Probabilities (irrigation).
• Agri-business (commodity trading, chemical
  stocking etc).
• Forecast Meteograms (olives, mangos, heat
  stress).

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Key Point
There are no guarantees, but the odds are
shifted when using a seasonal forecast.