Still heading for drier year than average

Despite a much wetter spring than average the district is still headed for a drier year than normal.
Some wet weather to finish November - 44 millimetres of rain registered at Warragul in the final six days of the month and and 48.6 millimetres at the Bureau of Meteorology's weather station at Nilma North - brought the totals for the month in line with the 63.8 millimetre average for the month.
But overall the spring months of September, October and November brought 305.6 millimetres, some 36 millimetres above the 115 year average for that period with October's 171.4 millimetres by far the wettest month this year.
The year's totals so far - 784.4 millimetres at Warragul and 805.2 at Nilma North - are running well below the 115 year average of 1006.4 millimetres.
December's average is 78.2 millimetres and, if rain during the month is around that amount, it will be the district's driest year in the past six.
The lead into summer gave no indication of the Bureau's outlook for a warmer than normal summer in the region.
November's average maximum daily temperature was 20.7 degrees.
The maximums on half of the days of the month failed to reach 20 degrees and on only five days did the thermometer reach the mid 20 degrees and above with only one day getting to 30 degrees.