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Statement on Drought for the 3 and 5-month
periods ending 31st May 2006
Issued by the National Climate Centre
Rainfall deficiencies intensify and spread in eastern Australia
Rainfall deficiencies have
spread and intensified across areas of New South Wales and southern
Queensland as a result of rather poor to record low
autumn
rainfall, the Bureau of Meteorology announced today. This is the sixth
successive year that significant parts of southeastern Australia have
recorded a dry autumn, with the most commonly affected area being the
southern half of NSW. The southwest of Western Australia has also experienced
below to very much below average rainfall this autumn, with record low
totals near the coast.
For the 3-month period from March to May,
severe rainfall deficiencies, with patches of lowest on record, spread
inland from the central NSW coast to near Nymagee in the centre of that
State. The ACT and areas near Albury are included in this swathe. A
smaller region on the coast north of Newcastle is also affected, as are
districts to the west and northwest of Brisbane in southeast Queensland.
In WA, a broad coastal strip from north of Geraldton to Cape Leeuwin had
serious to severe deficiencies for autumn, with a region of driest on
record immediately south of Perth.
For the 5-month period from January to May,
similar areas are affected, although with some important differences. In
eastern Queensland, the deficits extend a little further north to near
Rockhampton, while patches in far southwest Queensland and far northwest
NSW are also affected. In the southeast of the country, deficiencies are evident somewhat
further west into the Riverina, and also further south into northeast
Victoria. The far northeast corner of Tasmania is also experiencing
deficits for this period.
Rainfall deficiency
maps for longer periods indicate that deficiencies at the
three year timescale, which are particularly relevant to water supplies,
remain prevalent in parts of eastern Australia, especially in Queensland.
Note: The terms used to describe rainfall in these
Drought Statements have the following meanings -
Serious deficiency
- rainfalls in the lowest 10% of historical totals,
but not in the lowest 5%
Severe deficiency
- rainfalls in the lowest 5% of historical totals
Lowest on record
- lowest since at least 1900 when the data analysed begin
Very much below average
- rainfalls in the lowest 10% of historical totals
Below average
- rainfalls in the lowest 30% of historical totals,
but not in the lowest 10%
Average
- rainfalls in the middle 40% of historical totals
Above average
- rainfalls in the highest 30% of historical totals,
but not in the highest 10%
Very much above average
- rainfalls in the highest 10% of historical totals
For more information regarding this rainfall
deficiencies statement, please contact the following
climate meteorologists in the National Climate Centre:
Grant Beard on (03) 9669 4527
David Jones on (03) 9669 4085
External Sites Relating to Drought
The Bureau of Meteorology does not make formal drought declarations
as these are done by either the relevant State Governments or by the
Australian Government. The Australian Government Program is called
Exceptional Circumstances
and it is administered by the Federal Department of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF). General information about Australian
Government drought assistance is available at
http://www.daff.gov.au/droughtassist.
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