Issued on 6 July 2012
A dry start to winter for the Riverina, relief for western WA
Near-average June rainfall along the coast of southwest Western Australia has removed short-term rainfall deficiencies which had resulted from a drier-than-average autumn. Elsewhere, June rainfall was mixed; also generally above average across Queensland and the southeast mainland coast, and below average for parts of inland Australia.
3-month rainfall deficiencies
Following below-average rainfall over most of southern Australia in April and May, continued dry conditions during June for inland Australia have seen short-term rainfall deficiencies persist in the Interior of Western Australia, while severe 3-month (April to June 2012) deficiencies have emerged north of Esperance and in south-western New South Wales and the Riverina and adjacent parts of northern Victoria.
Despite the relief of short-term deficiencies, long-term rainfall deficiencies remain in southwest Western Australia. The southwest region had its driest year on record in 2010, and the two-year period from 2010 to 2011 was the lowest on record in some parts of southwest Western Australia.
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