Bureau of Meteorology Rainfall Districts
Related information
References & Guides
District monthly rainfall averages
District rainfall monthly averages are available as text data files.
Introduction
There are 99 numbered rainfall districts, some of which have been split into smaller segments (for example, district 23 comprises three sub-districts A, B, and C). The rainfall district system was initiated in 1913, partly to assist operational management, and partly in an effort to group sites with relatively similar rainfall climates. The districts are used to help assign the primary identification numbers to the majority of the Bureau's observation sites.
There are a number of limitations associated with the rainfall district system if it is used to group sites according to the rainfall patterns. There can be significant local differences in topography and rainfall within a region. For example, district 83 is in Victoria, and includes Lake Buffalo (elevation 280m; annual mean rainfall 1081mm {calculated in 2006}) and Mount Buffalo (1350m; 1885mm). Many of the rainfall district boundaries have been aligned for convenience with state boundaries and major features such as rivers. Thus, two sites separated by only a few kilometres may have quite similar rainfall but be in quite different rainfall districts.
The rainfall districts have no relationship with, for example,
census districts, postal districts, water catchments or shire boundaries. They
also differ from the Bureau forecast districts, which serve a different purpose
and which can change with time to suit, for example, differing population levels,
or service requirements.
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Rainfall district locations
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Rainfall district identification
Bureau of Meteorology rainfall district numbers and their corresponding
names.
Bureau of Meteorology rainfall district numbers and their corresponding names.
| Western Australia |
| 1. North Kimberley |
| 2. East Kimberley |
| 3. West Kimberley |
| 4. De Grey |
| 5. Fortescue |
| 6. West Gascoyne |
| 7. East Gascoyne |
| 7A. Murchison |
| 8. North Coast |
| 9. Central Coast |
| 9A. South Coast |
| 10. North Central |
| 10A. South Central |
| 11. Eucla |
| 12. Southeast |
| 13. Northeast |
| |
| Northern Territory |
| 14BC. Arnhem |
| 14DE. Roper-McArthur |
| 14F. Victoria |
| 14GA. Darwin-Daly |
| 15A. Barkly |
| 15B. Alice Springs |
| |
| South Australia |
| 16. Northwest |
| 17. Far North |
| 18. Western Agricultural |
| 19. Upper North |
| 20. Northeast |
| 21. Lower North |
|
| South Australia (cont.) |
| 22. West Central (22A + 22B) |
| 22A. Yorke Peninsula |
| 22B. Kangaroo Island |
| 23.East Central (23A + 23B + 23C) |
| 23A. Adelaide Plains |
| 23B. County Light |
| 23C. Mt. Lofty Ranges |
| 24. Murray River (24A + 24B) |
| 24A. Upper Murray Valley |
| 24B. Lower Murray Valley |
| 25A. Murray Mallee |
| 25B. Upper Southeast |
| 26. Lower Southeast |
| |
| Queensland |
| 27. North Peninsula |
| 28. South Peninsula |
| 29. Lower Carpentaria |
| 30. Upper Carpentaria |
| 31. Barron North Coast |
| 32. Herbert North Coast |
| 33. East Central Coast |
| 34. West Central Coast |
| 35. Central Highlands |
| 36. Central Lowlands |
| 37. Upper Western |
| 38. Lower Western |
| 39. Port Curtis |
| 40. Moreton |
| 41. East Darling Downs |
| 42. West Darling Downs |
| 43. Maranoa |
| 44. Warrego |
| 45. Far Southwest |
|
| New South Wales |
| 46. Western (Far Northwest) |
| 47. Western (Lower Darling) |
| 48. Western (Upper Darling) |
| 49. Western (Southwest Plains) |
| 50. Central Western Plains (S) |
| 51. Central Western Plains ( N) |
| 52. Northwest Plains (W) |
| 53. Northwest Plains (E) |
| 54. Northwest Slopes (N) |
| 55. Northwest Slopes (S) |
| 56. Northern Tablelands (W) |
| 57. Northern Tablelands (E) |
| 58. Upper North Coast |
| 59. Lower North Coast |
| 60. Manning |
| 61. Hunter |
| 62. Central Tablelands (N) |
| 63. Central Tablelands (S) |
| 64. Central Western Slopes (N) |
| 65. Central Western Slopes (S) |
| 66. Metropolitan (E) |
| 67. Metropolitan (W) |
| 68. Illawarra |
| 69. South Coast |
| 70. Southern Tablelands |
| (Goulburn-Monaro) |
| 71. Southern Tablelands |
| (Snowy Mountains) |
| 72. Southwest Slopes (S) |
| 73. Southwest Slopes (N) |
| 74. Riverina (E) |
| 75. Riverina (W) |
|
| Victoria |
| 76. North Mallee |
| 77. South Mallee |
| 78. North Wimmera |
| 79. South Wimmera |
| 80. Lower North |
| 81. Upper North |
| 82. Lower Northeast |
| 83. Upper Northeast |
| 84. East Gippsland |
| 85. West Gippsland |
| 86. East Central |
| 87. West Central |
| 88. North Central |
| 89. Western Plains |
| 90. West Coast |
| |
| Tasmania |
| 91. Northern |
| 92. East Coast |
| 93. Midlands |
| 94. Southeast |
| 95. Derwent Valley |
| 96. Central Plateau |
| 97. West Coast |
| (Mountain Region) |
| 98. King Island |
| 99. Flinders Island |
|
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Page updated: 16 June 2010
