Issued 2 October 2003
Rainfall deficiencies persist in northern and eastern Australia
The Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology announced today that following widespread below average falls in September, there are still large areas of eastern Australia that are deficient in their twelve-month rainfall totals. Some shorter-term rainfall deficiencies remain evident in some parts of central and northern Australia.
7-month rainfall deficiencies
For the 7-month period from March to September 2003, serious rainfall deficiencies were evident in the southern Northern Territory, generally to the north and west of Alice Springs, and in some small patches in central and far northwest Queensland. In addition, rainfall deficiencies re-emerged in a small area near Bairnsdale in Victoria.
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12-month rainfall deficiencies
For the 12-month period from October 2002 to September 2003, longer-term serious to severe rainfall deficiencies continued over some large areas of eastern Australia, thereby re-emphasizing the severity of the dry conditions last year. There was little change in the regions affected compared with the 12 months ending August. The largest regions were in central and northeast Queensland, and across southern and eastern Victoria together with the ACT and the western slopes in NSW. There were also patches in the southern NT as well as around Giles in eastern WA, and Carnarvon on the west coast of WA. Parts of East Gippsland near Bairnsdale have had their driest October to September period on record.
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