Weekly Rainfall Update
for 7 days to 9am 17th November 2009

Product Code: IDCKGFWA00

Commentary on Recent Rainfall

For the week ending 17th November 2009, rainfall was mostly confined to the west and tropical north of the country. Most of central and southeastern Australia recorded no rainfall at all.

Widespread falls in excess of 50 mm were recorded over the northeast coast of Queensland this week, with several sites seeing more than 200 mm. The highest measured totals for the week in Australia were in excess of 300 mm, recorded near Babinda in this region. This rainfall was produced by a mid-level trough combined with moist southeasterly winds.

Elsewhere, rainfall totals in excess of 15 mm were recorded in WA (outside of the interior), the north of the NT, eastern Tasmania, at a few elevated sites in NSW and some of the remaining areas of eastern and northern Queensland (see map below). The highest totals outside Queensland were in excess of 100 mm, recorded in the Darwin-Daly region of the NT.

Totals of between 5 and 15 mm were recorded in some of the remaining parts of eastern Queensland, the far northeast of NSW, WA, the northern NT and Tasmania. Most of the NT, the WA interior, SA, Victoria, NSW and western Queensland 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

Impact of Recent Rains on Deficits

The Drought Statement issued on the 6th November 2009 discusses rainfall deficits over Australia for the 4 and 10-month periods ending 31st October 2009. The rainfall deficit maps are available for the 4-month and 10-month periods and are currently available for standard periods.

For the period from 1st July to 17th November 2009, rainfall over parts of eastern Queensland and southern WA this week has partially eased some of the short-term deficits in these regions. Elsewhere, rainfall deficiencies remain similar to last week. Rainfall deficient areas over Queensland, have generally seen less than 50% of their estimated mean rainfall for the period, with some places seeing less than 20%. The far northeast of SA, and the far west of NSW have generally seen less than 30% of their estimated mean rainfall for the period, with many places seeing less than 20%. Further east, rainfall deficient areas over northeast NSW and the Riverina district have generally seen less than 50% of their expected rainfall for the period. Some isolated parts of the NT and the Pilbara in WA have also seen less than 20% of their mean rainfall for the period; however, only small amounts of rainfall are needed to remove these deficits. A small area to experience rainfall deficiencies along the WA south coast has seen less than 70% of its mean rainfall for the period.

For the period from 1st January to 17th November 2009, a lack of rainfall over central and eastern Victoria and along the south coast of NSW this week has seen a slight intensification of short-term deficits in these regions. In contrast, this weeks good rainfall over southwest WA has seen deficits slightly ease in this region. Elsewhere, rainfall deficient areas remain similar to last week. Rainfall deficient areas across central and eastern Victoria have generally seen less than 70% of their estimated mean rainfall for the period, with some sites seeing less than 60%. Several isolated stations in southeast Queensland and the far southern border areas of NSW have also seen less than 60% of their mean rainfall for the period. Some isolated areas scattered across central Australia have seen less than 40% of their mean rainfall, with a few sites near the NSW, SA and Queensland border seeing less than 20%.

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. Please also note that some station names have been shortened by taking away words such as post office and airport. 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
• Drought Information for Tasmania - information prepared by FarmPoint