Warragul on track for wettest year in nearly a decade

Warragul is on course to have its wettest year in at least eight years.

Up to the end of last month a total of 965.2 millimetres of rain had been recorded in the town, just 41.8 millimetres below the 155-year average.

Average falls for November and December total 169.8 millimetres.

If that amount of rain was to fall before the end of the year it would bring the annual total to 1135 millimetres, the wettest year since 2012’s 1190.8 millimetres.

That could even be exceeded with the Bureau of Meteorology rating the chances of above average rain for the region at 65 per cent.

The Bureau’s station at Nilma North has recorded slightly less rain than Warragul this year, the January to October total being 934.8 millimetres.

In Warragul the 114.4 millimetres last month was 10 millimetres above average.

The rain fell on 15 days across the month with seven days registering double figure amounts, the highest 17.4 millimetres in the 24 hours at 9 am on October 24.

The Bureau says its outlook for the next three months showing the likelihood of above average rainfalls would “not necessarily lower the risk of days with elevated fire danger”.

Gippsland Water has previously announced that that it expected the majority of towns across the region would not have water restrictions this year following good rain in August and September.

Late last week the Blue Rock, Moondarra and Tarago storages were at full capacity and Glenmaggie was at 93.4 per cent.

The four storages were holding just over 432,000 megalitres of water.