Weather record breaker in 2018

PRELIMINARY data from the Bureau of Meteorology indicates 2018 is likely to be in the driest 10 years on record and likely to be among the warmest 10 years on record for mean and maximum temperatures.
A strong low pressure system, with embedded severe thunderstorms caused record heavy falls across the State in mid-December and the year.
A Bureau of Meteorology spokesman said annual summaries for the region are currently being collated by the Bureau’s climate teams and will be released in mid January.
Local data collated across South Gippsland revealed annual rainfall in 2018 was significantly lower than in 2017.
Former farmer and Leongatha resident Gordon Bahn who has been collecting rainfall records for several years in eastern Leongatha said recent rainfall was the lowest he had recorded in the past five years.
Mr Bahn’s rain gauge collected a total of 52mm for December 106mm less than what he collected in the previous year when he recorded 158mm.
The average annual rainfall was also markedly lower, he said with 777.5mm collected in total for 2018 compared to 848mm in 2017.
Less rainfall continues to be the trend across the region as Fish Creek recorded 49.5mm for December compared 78mm in December 2017, according to Fish Creek farmer Neville Buckland who has been collating rainfall data since the 1970s.
Mr Buckland who recorded the average annual rainfall for 2018 as 921mm, about 80mm less than for 2017, said despite the lower rainfall, it had been an exceptionally good season for sileage.
“The main reason for the less rainfall not impacting the season was because it occurred in winter,” he said.
“There was not much rain in October and in the first part of November as well but it was a magnificent season because of the drier winter.”
Meeniyan recorded it’s driest year since 2014 with 837.7mm of rainfall last year which was less than half of what fell in 2017 (1750.6mm), according to records from the Meeniyan Post office rain gauge collated by Lindsay Fromhold.
In 2014 Meeniyan recorded 743.6mm rainfall.
December’s rainfall was also markedly lower in Meeniyan at 76.3mm, 47.2mm less than in December 2018.

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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Jan 8 2019. Filed under Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry