June rain above average

Warragul’s rainfall is tracking on average for the first six months of the year after the June total topped the average for the month by 30 millimetres.

Last month’s figure, 114.3 millimetres, was dominated by downpours and storms over 72 hours to 9 a.m. on June 12.

That three-day stretch saw 71.9 millimetres recorded in Warragul and local flooding that caused some property damage and extensive damage to parts of the district’s road network.

June’s rain brought the total for the first six months to 440.9 millimetres, only seven millimetres above the 115-year average for the period.

But the heaviest rains came in the higher areas, around the Mt Baw Baw and Strzlecki Ranges.

At Mount Baw Baw the three-days to June 12 dumped 280.6 millimetres of rain, about of three-quarters of the month’s total of 398.2.

At Parkers Corner near Erica the total of 239.9 millimetres was the highest for June in records dating back 50 years while Yarragon South, in the Strzlecki’s, received 185 millimetres.

Jindivick and Noojee, with 156 and 154 millimetres respectively had considerably more rain than that registered at Warragul or at the Bureau of Meteorology’s Nilma North recording station where the June total was 112.6 millimetres.

For those that like the cold Mt Baw Baw was definitely the place to be with of daily temperature lows below zero degrees including on morning at minus 4.9 and the thermometer not reaching a double figure number on any of June’s 30 days.

At Nilma North only two days reached a maximum temperature of 17 degrees with a lowest maximum for month of 11.4 degrees.

Minimums were below zero on three days while on nine other mornings the temperature was three degrees or below.