Victor Szwed
In July, we had around 160mm of rain to Friday 30th. This compares with the monthly mean of 103mm. The Bureau of Meteorology expects more wet conditions over coming months.
So far we have had around 612mm of rain this year compared to the long term mean of 496mm, 23 per cent above average. Rainfall readings will vary a bit for locations around Daylesford and Hepburn Springs, so I use the Bureau’s readings for consistency.
You may have noticed that fungi have been more plentiful. If you go walking, you are likely to see many different varieties of fungi both large and small. Frogs are happy and noisy. Both are indications are that we will have a bumper Spring for our gardens and for wildlife. There may also be consequences for the summer fire season.
Temperatures have been very cold in July with many days close to zero in the morning and only rising to 6° to 8°C during the day. Travel restrictions have prevented some locals from travelling to warmer climates interstate and to northern Victoria but travel within Victoria is open again for those who wish to get away for a few days. Travellers within Victoria can find some warmer weather here. Mildura is forecast to reach 24°C on July 31st with cooler days to follow.
The Bureau is forecasting wetter than average conditions continuing for much of Australia to the end of October. What does it mean for our region? The August average is around 104mm and for September, the average is around 89mm. Even if we have average rainfall, the ground and stream conditions should be wet as run-off is likely to be strong with ground surfaces containing already considerable moisture.
Victor Szwed is a Daylesford resident who contributes a regular weather watch column to The Wombat Post.
