Rainfall deficiencies persist along east coast & in parts of inland southeastern Australia

For the 5-month period from April to August, severe rainfall deficiencies are evident along the east coast and Great Dividing Range from Proserpine on Queensland’s central coast, to Bega in southern NSW. In addition, generally severe deficits extend over much of the central highlands in Queensland, encompassing locations such as Clermont and Emerald. Average to above average August rainfall in southern WA, reduced the areas affected there to a small patch near the coast to the northeast of Albany.

For the 8-month period from January to August, serious to severe rainfall deficiencies affect parts of southern NSW, the ACT and northern Victoria, together with the central Queensland region between Rockhampton and Proserpine. Many of these areas overlap with those affected by 5-month deficiencies, the main exceptions being parts of the Riverina and Lower Western in NSW, and north-central Victoria. Both Sydney and Canberra had their wettest month for the year in August, but Sydney’s year-to-date total is still about 350 mm below average! At Canberra Airport, the total since the 1st of January stands at 173 mm, which is just 44% of the long-term average but still well above the record low of 112 mm set in 1965.