December 2010 rainfall for the Murray Darling Basin (NSW)
Please find below the final rainfall statistics for 2010 for the selected centres that I have compiled from the local weather stations. There are several amazing rainfall figures for 2010 including:-
a) Wagga Wagga – A new yearly rainfall record was set for a total of 1,019.4 mm. Such rainfall has never occurred here.
b) Orange:- An amazing total of 1,592 mm fell during the year.
When compared to the average rainfall and rainfall for 2009, the year 2010 is a marked stand out for the Murray Darling Basin.
Much of the December rainfall occurred in the first few days of the month. In particular at Dubbo, 115 mm of its near 168 mm fell during the first 6 days of the month. I was at Dubbo at the time to witness the flooding that occurred along the Macquarie River. A similar storey occurred at Parkes. Wagga Wagga was impacted by two big storm events resulting in its high monthly total of 151 mm and flooding occurred there as well.
The drought broke but by December, too much rain fell and significant flooding resulted in many areas. Looking at the daily weather records for the selected centres, December ended drier in such centres as Albury, Dubbo and Wagga Wagga and some drying out started to occur in the south. However at Orange (Central Tablelands), 104 mm of rain fell on the 25/26 which boosted the monthly total to 299.9 mm. So while some parts of the Basin at least in New South Wales started to dry out in the latter half of the month, heavy rains continued in other areas.
The table referred to is attached below.
Harley Pearman
