Widespread power outages have wreaked havoc in Perth and much of southwest Western Oz as the weather bureau issued a severe weather warning for “destructive winds” in NSW, Victoria, South Oz and WA. It’s set the scene for an end to the run of sunshine on the east coast, with the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) confirming a new weather phenomenon that’s set to bring more heavy rain and flooding during the rest of this year and possibly the next… That’s the negative Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) – it’s essentially the west coast’s version of La Niña. And like the Pacific Ocean version, it typically brings more rainfall – this time to southern Oz while bringing warmer conditions to the north. And despite the declaration of the negative IOD, the BOM has maintained a 50/50 chance of La Niña returning this summer. Heavens above…