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Wettest March on record for West Coast

Last weekend's thunderstorms have taken parts of South Australia's West Coast to its wettest March on record and wettest month in more than 10 years.

One of the wettest towns this month has been Cleve which gained 32mm in a storm on Sunday. Cleve now has 118mm this month so far, already its highest March rainfall in 115 years of records. This is also its wettest month in 13 years with help from 85mm a week ago.

Others to have picked up hefty falls this month are Port Lincoln with 62mm and Kimba with 57mm, both more than three times the March average.

This is Kimba's wettest March in 27 years and Port Lincoln's wettest in at least 16 years.

In a normal year rain doesn't start to increase significantly until April or May with the onset of westerly winds. But recent feeds of tropical moisture have made 2010 one of the wettest starts to the season on record. Soil moisture and dams have returned to reasonable levels.

Not all of the West Coast has had such a damp start to autumn. Ceduna, Minnipa and Whyalla have all yet to see 10mm this month. But these places may get some rain later this week as showers and storms develop ahead of a cooler change.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2010

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