While the weather has been fairly variable throughout the year across the nation, rainfall over most capitals was below average.

In some places, this final summary is not going to be completely accurate, as with a few showers forecast the current rainfall totals are likely to change. However, as these showers don’t look to be heavy outside of the tropics, they are unlikely to change any totals by a significant amount.

In Hobart, a total of 585mm has been recorded, just slightly below the long term average of 612mm. It is important to note that it would be much lower had 129mm not fallen on May 11th. While the city could expect the odd shower to end the year, it is unlikely that they would end up with an above average rainfall.

Melbourne and Adelaide fared slightly worse, partly due to the absence of many strong frontal systems throughout the winter months. While not the only cause, it did limit the rainfall the regions received during the southern wet season, causing both cities to end up below average. Melbourne received a total of 512mm, which is below the average of 648.6mm. Meanwhile, Adelaide’s 358mm was just less than 70% of its average. Both cities may see their totals rise slightly before the new year as light showers impact southern parts of the nation.

Along the east coast, slightly drier than normal conditions impacted the capitals there. Canberra’s 469mm is below the average of 618mm. In Sydney, almost half of the rain recorded at observatory hill this year has fallen in the last four months, though this does bring the total up to 1001mm, making it about 80% average. In Brisbane, it is a similar story, with 859mm of rain recorded putting it 15% below average.

The other two capitals did manage to record above average values. In the southwest, Perth scrapped past the average of 729mm with its recorded 741mm of rain. In the Top End, even with the late onset of the north australian monsoon, Darwin managed to record more than usual, with 1849mm currently putting it at 106% of average. It is likely that Darwin's value will rise, as the year is currently forecast to end with showers and storms in the region.