Weatherwise, anyway… The template for an annual weather review is: ‘In [insert year], Australia experienced its hottest year on record.’ Not so in 2021, when the nation experienced the coolest mean temperatures since La Niña gave eastern Oz a big wet kiss in 2012. But according to the weather bureau’s Dr Lynette Bettio, that “doesn’t necessarily mean that it was ‘cool'” given the averages in recent years are global warming affected. Also bucking expectations, it wasn’t as wet as you might think. Sure, November was Australia’s wettest on record, and some parts had downfalls the likes they’ve never seen. But overall, 2021 delivered 9% more rain than average. It’s going to be soggy for a few more weeks with La Niña set to hang around until autumn – just mind the brown rot…