Dam fine downpour in southeastern Australia

FARMERS have cautiously welcomed good rain across southeast Australia.

FARMERS have cautiously welcomed good rain across southeast Australia.

While some say the falls, which delivered up to 150mm in parts of Victoria over the past week, have come at the wrong time of year to be of much benefit, others in parched areas of the state have welcomed run-off for dams and a boost to soil profiles.

The rain, which follows a wet January that saw some centres record more than three times their monthly average, comes as the strongest El Nino conditions in more than a decade continue to show signs of weakening. Bureau of Meteorology senior climatologist Kevin Smith however warned good rain over the past month did not necessarily mean El Nino was on its way out. The El Nino conditions were most damaging in the Wimmera and Mallee, with many grain growers forced to cut crops for hay, rather than take them through to harvest, following a five-day heatwave last October in which temperatures nudged 40C.

“It is still strong, but it is slowly declining, as we would expect as we head into autumn,” Mr Smith said. “There is probably an equal chance that we are going to go into a neutral or La Nina phase which would mean cooler and wetter conditions are more likely.

“It is highly unlikely that the El Nino will stay on, or we go into another one.”

Some of the best falls over the past week were recorded in North East Victoria, with Mitta Mitta picking up 124mm in the past seven days, followed by Lake Dartmouth (122mm), Taggerty (107mm), Eildon (85mm), Tallangatta (56mm) and Myrtleford and Rutherglen (49mm).

John Muraca, from Markwood, said “if you wanted to whinge, you could say the rain has come too early, but you won’t hear me whingeing”.

Staghorn Flat’s John Lang, who received 58mm of rain on Sunday in three thunderstorms, said the rain was great for the region and “should create a summer pick which will last us through until autumn”.

There were handy falls in parched areas of western Victoria, with Lismore measuring 103mm, Derrinallum, 80mm, and Birregurra, 43mm.

Warrnambool livestock agent Anthony Mahony said while the weekend’s rain was “good for summer crops, tank water and to settle some dust”, it “would not have a major impact”.

Simpson dairy farmer Alex Robertson said the rain wouldn’t really mean anything unless there was more soon, but “it shows that stuff still does fall from the sky”.

It was another week of good falls in Gippsland, with Genoa in far East Gippsland recording 117mm, followed by the Latrobe Valley (86mm), Dargo (80mm), Bairnsdale (61mm) and Omeo (52mm).

Leongatha livestock agent Simon Henderson said good rain in South Gippsland over the weekend provided “some hope that we might get an early autumn break”.

In northwest Victoria, Kerang received 47mm in the past week, while Charlton picked up 44mm, Boort, 37mm, and Swan Hill, 29mm.

Victorian Farmers Federation vice-president David Jochinke recorded 51mm in two storms on his property north of Horsham last week, but said totals across the state’s grains belt had been “a mixed bag”.

In NSW, Grong Grong, north of Narrandera, received 106mm over the past week while Gundagai and Urana both recorded 81mm. It was described by Landmark Narrandera agronomist Anthony Muhlebach as “great rain because it is filling up the soil moisture profile”.

Bureau figures show Mildura received 68.2mm of rain during January, or almost a quarter of its calendar-year rain. Mallee Sustainable Farming agronomist Michael Moodie said the rain was good for building soil moisture levels which “have been critical in the past few years”.

Omeo had 155.8mm, three times its monthly average.

Bureau climatologist Dean Stewart said Tropical Cyclone Stan remnants could deliver showers in Victoria today.