Sydney beats 1950 rainfall record with 3 wet months to spare

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia’s largest city, Sydney, has been soaked by its wettest year on record with almost three months of expected above-average rain to spare. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology says Sydney beat its 1950 record of 2,194 millimeters (86.4 inches) around midday on Thursday. Heavy rain is forecast to continue across Sydney and other parts of southeast Australia, peaking on Saturday. The Bureau of Meteorology last month declared that a La Niña weather pattern is underway in the Pacific. La Niña is associated with above-average rainfall in eastern Australia. It is the third La Niña since 2019 became Australia’s hottest and driest year on record. That year ended with catastrophic wildfires across southeast Australia.