Drought Statement

MEDIA RELEASE - ISSUED 7th JANUARY 2002 Statement on Drought for the 10 & 13-month periods ending 31st December 2001 Deficiencies continue in western W.A. and eastern Queensland The Bureau of Meteorology announced today that rainfall deficiencies continued in parts of western W.A. and eastern Queensland with December rainfall having relatively little impact. The first map below shows the regions in southern and western W.A. with serious to severe deficiencies for the ten-month period from March to December 2001. Heavy rain in the southwest of the State caused a reduction in the extent and intensity of the deficits in that region, but there was little change in the pattern near Carnarvon despite below average December rainfall. The Queensland coast between Mackay and Townsville has also been affected by rainfall deficiencies for this period. Most of western and southern W.A. also experienced rainfall deficiencies during the 2000 southern growing season. Rainfall deficiencies expanded marginally in southeast Queensland as a result of below average falls in December. For the thirteen months from December 2000 to December 2001, serious to severe rainfall deficiencies affect most coastal areas from St. Lawrence to Brisbane and parts of the area between Roma and Gladstone. Southeast Queensland also experienced well below average rainfall in 2000. No further statements will be issued for this period that began in December 2000. Should routine monitoring reveal any deficits for the current northern wet season (which began in October 2001), a rainfall deficiency statement will be issued in the normal way. 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 Lowest on record - lowest since at least 1900 when the data analysed begin For more information regarding this rainfall deficiencies statement, please contact the following climate meteorologists during normal business hours (EST) Monday to Friday: Grant Beard on (03) 9669 4527 Robert Fawcett on (03) 9669 4603

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A black and white version is also available.


Click on the map for full resolution.
A black and white version is also available.