For the 6 and 12-month periods ending 31^st December 2009
Issued on 5^th January 2010 by the National Climate Centre

Deficiencies ease in northern and eastern Australia; longer-term deficits remain in parts of SE Australia

Rainfall deficiencies definition Deficiencies map - first period Deficiencies map - second period Monthly climate summaries Deficits - Standard periods the top

Heavy rainfall during December 2009 associated with Tropical Cyclone Laurence, as well as other early wet-season activity, reduced the extent of rainfall deficiencies in tropical Australia. Deficiencies at the 12-month timescale persist largely unchanged in central Australia and along the southeast coast, with December rainfall generally average to below average in these regions.

For the 6-month period from July to December 2009, serious to severe rainfall deficiencies are evident over many parts of eastern Queensland within 300 kilometres of the coast, especially from Bowen southwards, with the strongest deficiencies in the Central Highlands around Emerald. Rainfall in December in this region was mostly fairly close to normal, weakening deficiencies in much of the region. A dry December saw deficiencies intensify somewhat along the southern coast of WA from Esperance to Bremer Bay and appear on parts of the far south coast of NSW.

Rainfall in December, early in the wet season, was near or above normal over most of the Northern Territory, removing most of the deficiencies that had existed for the 5 months to November, although some remain in the Alice Springs district, and locally near the Gulf of Carpentaria coast and in the western Victoria River district. Heavy rains in late December also largely eliminated rainfall deficiencies in central NSW and southern border areas of inland Queensland.

For the 12-month period from January to December 2009, serious to severe rainfall deficiencies remain evident in a narrow band extending along the coast from southern NSW through Gippsland to south-central Victoria. Deficiencies intensified slightly during the month with a small area of lowest on record rainfall appearing near Bombala. An area of widespread deficits in the southern NT remained in place, although there was some improvement on its southern and western edge as a result of rainfall associated with TC Laurence. The small patch of deficits near the Arnhem Land coast reflects both a poor end to the 2008-09 wet season as well as poor start to the current wet season. There are also some relatively small deficit patches in inland southeast Queensland and southern WA.

Very long-term rainfall deficiencies outside of the drought periods discussed above persist across parts of southern and eastern Australia. Most notably, rainfall has been below average across much of southwest and southeast Australia since 1997, while the Murray-Darling Basin has experienced below average rainfall since 2002.

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

Rainfall deficiencies definition Deficiencies map - first period Deficiencies map - second period Monthly climate summaries Deficits - Standard periods the top

For more information regarding this rainfall deficiencies statement, please contact the following climate meteorologists in the National Climate Centre:

Blair Trewin on (03) 9669 4623
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.

• Drought Situation Reports for Queensland - issued by the State of Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines
• Areas of NSW suffering drought conditions - maps produced by the State of New South Wales Department of Agriculture
• Drought Information for Victoria - information prepared by the State of Victoria Department of Primary Industries
• Drought Information for South Australia - information prepared by the Government of South Australia Department of Primary Industries and Resources
• Drought Information for Tasmania - information prepared by FarmPoint

Archive of previous drought statements