There is a "really good chance" this November will be Canberra's wettest on record, with southern NSW also set for a gloomy summer.
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Canberrans have shivered through an unseasonably cold November, including minimum temperatures under three degrees, and are being advised not to pack away their raincoats just yet.
Those flocking to the South Coast over the next few months have also been warned they may be left disappointed, with the eastern seaboard in particular set for wet summer period.
The Bureau of Meteorology was expected to formally announce La Nina - it was already in its 'alert' phase - meaning sodden conditions experienced across the east coast could linger for six months.
More than 107 millimetres fell on the ACT in the first 20 days this month, just 30 millimetres short of its wettest November on record. And with more rain predicted in the coming weeks, BOM NSW and ACT manager Agata Imielska said that threshold could well be surpassed.
"There's a really good chance we'll see the record being broken," she said.
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Travel to the region returned this month following the ACT's hardest and longest lockdown, and South Coast businesses - which have grappled with bushfires and the pandemic in the past few months - have pleaded with Canberrans to return.
But travellers looking for a South Coast getaway were set for disappointment, the BOM predicted.
Ms Imielska said prime beach weather would be in limited supply, with the eastern seaboard set for a particularly gloomy few months.
"It might not be the absolute picturesque, clear skies for summer," she said.
"It doesn't mean that we're not going to get those ... but there might not be quite as many. It might be a bit muggy as well, [given] things are so wet broadly across the state."
While temperatures were set to rise, Ms Imielska said the summer was expected to be wetter and colder than usual.
"Those cloudy conditions really do keep ... a lid on those maximum temperatures getting getting warm," she said.
Central and northern NSW were braced for flash flooding this week, with greater Sydney also set to receive 50 millimetres on Sunday alone.
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