Issued 3 February 2005
Rainfall deficiencies intensify in the NT and northern WA
The Bureau of Meteorology announced today that rainfall deficiencies intensified in the interior and north of WA, as well as the adjacent parts of the western NT, as a result of below to very much below average January rainfall.
7-month rainfall deficiencies
For the 7-month period from July to January, a large area of severe rainfall deficiencies straddles the WA/NT border with a significant fraction having had its driest July to January period on record. There was also an expansion of serious to severe deficiencies along the Pilbara coast in WA. In addition, a large region of deficiencies remains around Alice Springs in the southern NT, although above average falls in the southeast of the NT reduced the size of this area in comparison with the situation at the end of December. Small patches are also evident in northern South Australia, far western Queensland and northeast Tasmania.
Large patches in southern and eastern Australia continue to experience deficiencies for periods longer than two years and only a prolonged period of above average rainfall will remove them.
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