Bureau of Meteorology Rainfall Districts

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