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

For the 6-month period from April to September, 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 (see map). A small area between Sydney and Newcastle has recorded its driest April to September on record, as has a region on the far northern NSW coast between Yamba and the Queensland border. Above average September falls reduced deficiencies from severe to serious in the Wide Bay and Burnett districts in Queensland, and in parts of the Central Highlands, also in Queensland. Very much below average September rainfall in southern WA, caused a modest expansion of the areas affected by rainfall deficiencies since April.

For the 9-month period from January to September, serious to severe rainfall deficiencies affect parts of Queensland’s central and Capricornia coasts between Mackay and Rockhampton, the ACT and southeast NSW south of Newcastle (overlapping with the 6-month deficits), as well as parts of the Lower Western, Riverina and Southwest Slopes. Record low falls have occurred in a patch just south of the ACT. Above average rainfall in central and northern Victoria during September was sufficient to remove the deficiencies in those areas. Sydney’s year-to-date total is 360 mm below average, while at Canberra Airport the total since the 1st of January stands at 222 mm, which is just 50% of the long-term average and the third driest January to September period on record in the nation’s capital. The record low is 177 mm set in 1944.