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Mellissa Mackellar, 27 Jun 2013, 4:45 AM UTC

A month of rainfall extremes in WA

A month of rainfall extremes in WA
Southern parts of WA are on track to have their driest June in years, while towns in the state's north have been drenched by their wettest June on record. With little or no rainfall expected for the end of June in southern WA, records are set to be broken. In the Central Wheatbelt, Beverley and Northam are facing their driest June in 105 years of records, with just 6mm each so far this month. It's a similar story in the Great Southern, where Narrogin's running total of 15mm will make it the driest June in at least 104 years. The state's capital has only seen 44mm so far this month, just 33% of their usual 134mm. There is a chance of a light shower today but only a millimetre or two, with mostly dry conditions otherwise expected. If less than seven millimetres falls between now and Sunday, Perth will have had its driest June in six years and fifth driest June since records commenced in 1876. Elsewhere in the Lower West, it's looking likely to be the driest June in at least 43 yeas for Bickley and 47 years for Lancelin, with running totals of just 29mm and 14mm respectively. Pearce is also very parched, with 10mm so far accounting for just 7% of their normal monthly total. The unusually dry weather has come as a result of dominant, slow-moving high pressure systems, which have prevented any strong rain-bearing cold fronts from delivering healthy falls. It has been a vastly different story in the north however, where some towns have been swamped by heavy falls. Broome, Port Hedland and Marble Bar have now seen more than ten times their normal monthly falls. For Port Hedland, 253mm so far makes it their wettest June in 68 years of records. Similarly, the 48 year record at Cygnet Bay has been broken with 196mm. For the last three days of June, showers will affect the Kimberley and Pilbara, while a high keeps the south mostly clear and dry.
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