Victor Szwed
A mid-November weather update is presented as the weather situation continues to evolve – this season is a bit unusual but not surprising.
As of the 18th of November, the Bureau of Meteorology had recorded 80mm of rainfall for Daylesford which is already 24% higher than the total average rainfall for November. More rain is forecast for the coming days. Annual rainfall is currently running around 120mm above average.
The Bureau advises that December to February rainfall is likely to be above median for Eastern Australia. “There is an increased chance of unusually high rainfall (in the top 20% of historical records) for December to February for much of the eastern two thirds of Australia (1.5 to 2.5 times the usual risk).”
La Nina thresholds are being met this month and are expected to be maintained to at least January contributing to the wetter than average outlooks.
Maximum temperatures for December to February are expected to be cooler for the eastern portion of Victoria and close to normal for our area. Minimum temperatures are likely to be warmer for most of Australia. I had a light frost on my car early this week and hopefully for the sake of my tomatoes that was the last of it.
Melbourne’s reservoirs are 88.7% full, more than 13% higher than this time last year and the best for many years. All of the reservoirs servicing the Daylesford region continue to be full and overflowing.
With the milder weather just coming in and good soil moisture it could be a good time to tackle those dreaded weeds again and also to plant your tomatoes and other Summer vegetables.
Victor Szwed is a Daylesford resident who contributes a monthly (now bi-monthly) weather article to The Wombat Post.
