More than 25mm of rain forecast for parts of parched Victoria

UPWARDS of 25mm of rain is expected across swathes of Victoria in the next week in what is shaping up as one of the most highly anticipated seasonal shifts of the year.

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UPWARDS of 25mm of rain is expected across swathes of Victoria in the next week in what is shaping up as one of the most highly anticipated seasonal shifts of the year.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s eight-day weather outlook yesterday pointed to 25-50mm falling in parts of the Western District, Wimmera, southern Mallee and the North East by mid next week. More than 15mm is expected across most other parts of the state except northern Victoria, which is forecast to receive more than 10mm.

The rain, which began crossing the state on Monday, will be welcomed by all sectors but comes too late for many grain growers who have been forced by a lack of moisture to cut their winter crops for hay following a record dry start to spring.

The best falls in the 24 hours to 9am yesterday were in the Wimmera and Mallee with Kanagulk recording 15.6mm, ahead of Edenhope (11.2mm), Walpeup (8.4mm), Nhill (8mm) and Hopetoun (7.6mm).

Victorian Farmers Federation president David Jochinke said rain was critical for both crops and pastures “to give them a solid finish to reach their remaining potential”.

“There has been a lot of frost reported in some areas,” Mr Jochinke said. “The rain certainly will not help farmers who have been proactive in cutting crops for hay however it hopefully will help anything they have left standing.”

The improved outlook for Victoria comes as areas of drought-ravaged NSW last week welcomed their best rain in more than two years. A front which crossed the state delivered more rain than farmers had received all year.

The best falls were in the central west of the state with Dubbo recording 63mm for the week, including 45.2mm last Thursday — its biggest one-day total since March last year. There were other handy totals at Wellington (60mm), Cowra (35mm), Trangie (34mm), and Forbes (32mm).

In the Western Division, Menindee recorded 51mm, Ivanhoe 43mm and Broken Hill 34.2mm. Prior to last week’s rain, Broken Hill had recorded just 24.6mm for the year. Last Thursday was Broken Hill’s wettest day since September 2016.

Meanwhile, the BOM last week confirmed Australia experienced its driest September on record. In addition, Victoria recorded its second-ever driest September, Western Australia its fourth and South Australia its fourth.

Rainfall levels were in the lowest 10 per cent of historical totals for almost all of Victoria except for parts of South and West Gippsland.