Issued 5 April 2002
Rainfall deficiencies persist in WA, NSW, Queensland, Victoria and SA
The Bureau of Meteorology announced today that rainfall deficiencies eased in northwest W.A. following average to above average falls during March. However, continued drier than average conditions along the east coast have caused rainfall deficits between Cooktown and Grafton.
5-month rainfall deficiencies
Low March rainfall caused the area of serious to severe deficiencies around the N.S.W./S.A./Victoria border region to expand slightly. In one part of this area, the five-month rainfall from November to March has been the lowest on record. The small areas of rainfall deficiency northwest of Bourke in NSW and east of Birdsville in Queensland also intensified. In contrast, average to above average rainfall in northwest W.A. caused a contraction in existing rainfall deficiencies between Port Hedland and Carnarvon.
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4-month rainfall deficiencies
Another month of below average to very much below average rainfall across eastern Queensland in March, intensified and expanded rainfall deficiencies, particularly in the southeast of the State. For the four-month period beginning in December, serious to severe deficiencies are scattered along the coast between areas just north of Cooktown in Queensland, and Grafton in northern NSW. Deficiencies are also evident along a thin coastal strip in the far north of the Northern Territory.
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