MEDIA RELEASE - ISSUED 10^th JANUARY 2000

Statement on Drought for the 9 & 39-month periods ending 31^st December 1999

Rainfall deficiencies continue in Victoria and Tasmania

The Bureau of Meteorology's Acting Deputy Director (Services), Bruce Neal, said today that areas of serious to severe rainfall deficiencies remain in parts of southern Victoria, southern South Australia, the central highlands of Queensland, and Tasmania.

December rainfall caused some contraction in the areas of southwestern Victoria experiencing serious rainfall deficiencies for the nine months from April to December 1999 (see first map below). Above to very much above average rainfalls in northeastern South Australia during December removed the existing rainfall deficiencies, but at the same time low December rainfall resulted in an expansion of the serious deficiencies around Ceduna. Serious deficiencies for these nine months also exist in central Queensland around Emerald. The areas affected in Tasmania are in the south-east around Hobart and in the north-west around Burnie.

The 39 months from October 1996 to December 1999 (see second map below) have been very dry in an area extending from the southern Eyre Peninsula in South Australia to Sale in eastern Victoria, and also into the north-east of Tasmania. In some of these regions the rainfall has been lowest on record for the period.

The recent rainfall in northeastern South Australia has largely removed longer-term deficiencies for the 12-month period beginning December 1998, with the consequence that drought statements for that period will no longer be issued.

Rainfall deficiency maps for standard periods (3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months) are updated monthly on the Bureau's web site, at http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/silo/rain_maps.cgi.

Note: The terms used to describe rainfall in these Drought Statements have the following meanings -

Well below average - rainfalls in the lowest 10% of historical totals
Below average - rainfalls in the lowest 30% of historical totals, but not in the lowest 10%
Average - rainfalls in the middle 40% of historical totals
Above average - rainfalls in the highest 30% of historical totals, but not in the highest 10%
Well above average - rainfalls in the highest 10% of historical totals
Serious deficiency - rainfalls in the lowest 10% of historical totals, but not in the lowest 5%
Severe deficiency - rainfalls in the lowest 5% of historical totals

For more information regarding this rainfall deficiencies statement, please contact the following climate meteorologists during normal business hours (EDT) Monday to Friday: