Angus McLean-Smith, 24 Feb 2018, 2:35 AM UTC
Relieving rain ready to reach NSW
New South Wales has been stuck in a bit of a dry patch this February, with many areas of the state receiving well below average totals for the month.
This all looks set to change over the weekend and into early next week. A cold front, associated with a low pressure system south of Australia, looks set to trigger rain, as well as strong winds and a few storms. Sunday looks to be the rainiest day, with lighter falls on Saturday and Monday.
This February, the South West Slopes region has received well below average rain, with Tumbarumba receiving only 2.8mm of its 52.4mm average, and Young only seeing 1.2mm of its 52.8mm average. However, relief is on the way, with up to 50mm forecast to drop by the end of Monday. Heaviest falls are likely to be around the Batlow in the south and Binalong in the North. Young can expect up to 15-30mm in the next few days.
The Southern Tablelands have also been dry this month, with Goulburn receiving only 6.8mm compared to its average of 60mm. Rainfall in the next few days looks to be up to 80mm by the end of Monday. Heaviest falls are expected around Taralga and Marulan with up to 50-60mm expected on Sunday alone. Yass and Gunning can expect to get up to 25-35mm by Monday night.
Rainfall in the Central Tablelands should also be extensive over the next few days bringing relief from the dry conditions. Moss Vale has only see 26.7mm of its 104.8mm average, and on the coast only 37.2mm of the average 158.6mm at Kiama has fallen. Bundanoon looks to get up to 60mm by Monday night, with up to 30-50mm expected along the coast.
The Hunter region has seen a few falls this month, but still significantly less than average. Singleton has seen 14.9mm of its 86.4mm average and 11.8mm has fallen over Scone compared to 59.7mm. Falls over the next few days appear to be heaviest about the coast, with up to 60mm expected, while Singleton can expect to see up to 30-40mm by Monday night. Around Scone falls are only expected to reach, at most, 20mm.
A dry month has been seen in Sydney, with only 39.8mm of the average 117.6mm being recorded. Up to 40-50mm rainfall is expected until Monday night.
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