Rainfall-sea surface temperature associations on the New South Wales coast

There are definite correlations between monthly anomalies in rainfall and sea surface temperatures in inshore waters along the coast of New South Wales. In large part these are considered due to the response of the Ekman current to rain-bearing (onshore) winds, with sea temperature consequently tending to lag behind rainfall. But correlations with rainfall lagging behind sea temperature do occur. Stronger and more definite relations could, it is argued, be established if adequate temperature data a hundred or so miles to sea were also available. Some properties of the sea surface temperature behaviour per se, and its connection with air temperature as well as with rainfall, are also investigated.