Kim Westcott, 31 Aug 2014, 5:05 AM UTC
August rains miss northern and central Victoria
Large parts of Victoria missed on the last burst of winter rain.
Dartmouth has its driest August in sixty years of records, with 19 mm reaching the rain gauge. Wangaratta has not seen a drop of rain for over half a month, bringing the monthly total to 5.2mm, which is a 26 year low. Elsewhere in the North East district, Hunters Hill recorded 20.4 mm for the month, making it the driest August in 18 years of records.
Mangalore recorded just five millimeters August, making it the driest it has been in half a century. Yarrawonga and Shepparton also had a very dry month, recording less than 4mm, making it the driest August in 20 and 17 years respectively.
In the North Central district, Kilmore Gap had its driest August in 18 years, Eildon recorded the lowest amount of August rain in 17 years. A majority of the district saw approximately a third or less of average monthly rain.
In comparison, a majority of the East Gippsland picked up higher than average monthly totals, with Bairnsdale having the heaviest August rain since 2001.
A large cold front will bring showers for a majority of state to mark the start of spring. Showers on Monday and Tuesday will bring a widespread 5-10mm across northern and central parts of the state with isolated falls of 10-20mm in the east.
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