Weekly Rainfall Update
for 7 days to 9am 30th June 2009

Product Code: IDCKGFWA00

Commentary on Recent Rainfall

For the week ending 30th June, rainfall was mostly confined to the south of the country. Most of the rainfall was produced by three eastward moving low pressure systems and their associated troughs and fronts.

Falls in excess of 50 mm were recorded over parts of southwest WA, the south and east of Tasmania and at a few sites in southeast Queensland, near Brisbane. The highest measured totals for the week were in excess of 180 mm, falling over southwest WA, near Dwellingup. A few sites in southeastern Tasmania also saw totals exceed 150 mm.

Falls of between 25 and 50 mm were recorded over most of the rest of Tasmania and in a large area surrounding heavier falls in southwest WA. Falls of 25 to 50 mm also surrounded heavier falls in southeast Queensland. Other areas that recorded totals of between 25 and 50 mm included the interior of NSW, northeast Victoria and parts of southern SA, mainly over the Eyre Peninula. A few isolated areas in the Interior and Gascoyne districts in WA also saw totals exceed 25 mm.

Falls of between 5 and 25 mm were recorded in some of the remaining parts of Victoria, NSW, southeast Queensland, southern and western SA, the far southwest of the NT and over WA, south of the tropics. Most of northern and central Australia saw little or no rainfall at all.

Weekly Rainfall Map

larger colour map with place names | b/w map | larger b/w map with place names
WA | NT | Qld | NSW | Vic | SA | Tas
map information | quality control information

The Drought Statement issued on the 5th June 2009 discusses rainfall deficits over Australia for the 5 and 24-month periods ending 31st May 2009. The rainfall deficit maps are available for the 5-month and 24-month periods, and are currently available for standard periods.

For the period 1st January to 30th June 2009, this weeks rainfall over southwest WA and northeast Tasmania has partially eased rainfall deficiencies in these regions for this period. Some southern coastal areas of the southwest of WA and parts of northeast Tasmania have now seen 90 to 100% of their estimated mean rainfall for the period. However, some large areas in southwest WA, away from the south coast, have still seen less than 60% of the estimated mean rainfall for the period, with a few sites seeing less than 50%. This weeks rainfall has also partially eased rainfall deficiencies for the same period across parts of southeast SA, northeast Victoria and adjoining southern border areas of NSW. Elsewhere, rainfall deficiencies remain similar to last week with most of central, north and eastern areas of Victoria, along with a few southern border areas of NSW and a small area to the east of Adelaide generally seeing less than 60% of the mean rainfall for the period. A few sites in these regions have seen less than 40%.

For the period from 1st June 2007 to 30th June 2009, rainfall deficient areas remain similar to last week. Rainfall deficient areas across central and western Victoria, eastern and northern Tasmania, the far south of NSW and southeastern SA have generally seen between 60 and 80% of the estimated long term mean rainfall for the period. Further north, rainfall deficient areas across central Australia and the Northeast Pastoral district of SA have generally observed less than 60% of their mean rainfall, with a few sites seeing less than 50%.

Please Note: The Australian Bureau of Meteorology is not responsible for drought declarations. Drought declarations are the responsibility of the State Governments, and take account of other factors in addition to recent rainfall patterns. Some links to state government departmental web sites are given below.

Table of Highest Weekly Totals

The table below lists the highest rainfall totals for each state and territory for the past week. These are based on real-time rainfall reports, and only limited quality control has been performed on the data. Rainfall district names are given in parentheses. To view a map of the Bureau of Meteorology rainfall districts click here. In creating the weekly rainfall map, the automated analysis technique averages the rainfall observations onto 25 km squares. Consequently entries in the table below may be higher than the rainfall ranges shown on the map for those locations.

Some Useful Links

• maps of recent rainfall ( month to date totals - issued daily )
• rainfall deficiencies statement ( archive ) - issued monthly
• three-month rainfall probabilities ( archive ) - issued monthly
• ENSO Wrap-Up

External Sites

• Drought Situation Reports for Queensland - issued by the State of Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Water
• Areas of NSW suffering drought conditions - maps produced by the State of New South Wales Department of Agriculture
• Drought Information for Victoria - information prepared by the State of Victoria Department of Primary Industries
• Dry Season information in WA - prepared by the State of Western Australia Department of Agriculture and Food