Mother’s Day soaking forecast for Victoria this weekend

UPDATE: WEATHER forecasters are growing in confidence for a soaking this weekend across Victoria.

Glorious mud: Werribee South cauliflower growers Andrew Zanghi, Jayden Maraca and Matt Carlesso, dance in the rain. Picture: Greg Scullin

UPDATE: WEATHER forecasters are growing in confidence for a Mother’s Day soaking across Victoria.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Sarah Scully said the weather models were “coming together” as the complex low pressure system approached.

“There may be significant rain in the Wimmera and Mallee,” Ms Scully said.

Rain totals from last Friday and Saturday were generally hit-and-miss across the state, although northern and central areas received a combined 30mm.

Ms Scully said confidence was growing that 5-10mm would fall in the far north, with more in isolated areas.

“This is a weather system which is going to reach right up into the Northern Territory, so it looks like it will be more general rain than the last system, which was very different,” she said.

With low irrigation allocations, rain came in the nick of time for Werribee market gardeners.

Andrew Zanghi said it was “the first proper rain” for many months.

“We produce cauliflowers for a lot of markets around Australia so we need to keep production up; it is hard to do that without regular rain,” Mr Zanghi said.

The Werribee region had 24mm over the weekend.

King Valley grazier Malcolm Carson recorded 44mm on Saturday and Sunday.

“I believe that’s the break,” he said. “We have been renovating and oversowing pasture so more rain on Sunday would be fantastic.”

Roger Paterson from Woosang, near Wedderburn, said totals in the area on the weekend averaged 15-20mm, with some receiving more.

“Some dams have even started filling so any rain would be really welcome. Most people started sowing about two weeks ago,” he said.

All 31 key weather stations monitored by The Weekly Times recorded below-average rain during April.

Mildura received just 3mm of rain, while at the other end of the scale, Hamilton received 99 per cent of its normal April rain.

April was the third below-average month for rain in a row for many centres, including Albury, Ballarat, Bendigo, Corryong, Echuca, Griffith, Hay, Lake Eildon, Mortlake, Narrandera, Shepparton, Wagga Wagga, Wangaratta and Yarrawonga,