BOM releases SA’s summer forecast
SA’s summer forecast is being issued by the Bureau of Meteorology as news emerges of the plight of farmers starting to harvest on the back of devastating drought.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued the long-range forecast for the 2025 summer season, showing summer days and nights are likely to be warmer than average across most of Australia.
Senior Meteorologist Angus Hines said nationally, summer rainfall was likely to be below average for parts of the west and inland parts of the east.
There was no clear rainfall signal for SA, with Hines saying there were near-equal chances of above- or below-average rainfall.
“Summer days and nights are likely to be warmer than average throughout South Australia,” Hines said.
The forecast for December currently showed below-average rainfall was likely for much of the state.
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While the forecast for January and February for most areas across SA currently showed there were near-equal chances of above- or below-average rainfall.
The BOM report comes on the back of Spring rainfall, showing it has been average to above average for much of the country but below average for parts of the south-east mainland.
Winter rainfall failed to deliver many parts of the state a reprieve from drought, with data showing August hit record lows.
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Grain Producers SA chief executive officer Brad Perry said late rainfall had helped many farmers across the state in finishing crops for harvest, particularly in the South-East, Yorke Peninsula, and the Mid-North.
The most recent Primary Industries and Resources SA Department crop and pasture report for October showed despite some crops being cut for hay, the current estimated grain production for 2025/2026 increased slightly to 8.8 million tonnes, which was on par with the five-year average.
This reflected an overall improved yield expectation with October rains. The estimated farm gate value of grain was estimated to be $3.1 billion.
“We’re still technically in drought, we haven’t returned to average rainfall yet,” Perry said.
“We’re close to some normality but still, overall it was quite a dry year from a rainfall perspective.”
Some pockets across the state in particular continued to miss out on rainfall, particularly in the Mallee and Riverland along with pockets in the Upper North and Eyre Peninsula.
“I think there are some who are going to have a lot of financial hangover from the last couple of seasons… I think there’s going to be some challenging conversations with banks,” Perry said.
