Weekend rain ends a long dry spell

West Gippsland is crying out for a bit of steady rain after an unusually dry summer while as close as an hour away by aeroplane large swathes of New South Wales and Queensland battle catastrophic flooding.
Rainfall readings at Warragul and Nilma North for the summer period - December to February - were well below the average.
Paddocks across the district are brown, home gardeners are desperately watering their flowers and vegetables and water cartage operators are having their busiest summer for many years supplying those that rely on tank water.
The February rainfall total at Nilma North was a measly 8.8 millimetres, the lowest recorded for the month since the Bureau of Meteorology established its weather station there in 2014.
Warragul was "wet" by comparison registering 14.4 millimetres during February.
But eight millimetres of that came in the 24 hours to 9 a.m. on February 1, rain that fell on only four days for the rest of the month barely enough to show in the guage.
Grassed sporting venues have had their share of challenges, too.
In a report to members at Drouin Golf and Country Club course superintendent Ryan Hammond said only 42 millimetres of rain fell on the course from mid-December until the end of February.
He said fairways had not been as dry since heavy drought in the early 2000s and current conditions had required extra attention to prevent disease getting into greens.
Most of February's 14-millimetre total registered at the course came in one 10-minute burst, the rest from light showers on just a few days, Mr Hammond said.
Given the usual rainfall patterns in West Gippsland - Warragul's all years' average is just above 1000 millimetres - it borders on incomprehensible that in the past week or two the two states to our north have areas the got belted with as much as 700-plus millimetres of rain in a day and 200 millimetres in an hour.
At Warragul, despite a higher than average 74.9 millimetres in January, the total for the three summer months was only 119.3 millimetres, 70 millimetres down on the average.
Nilma North only a kilometre or two away fared a lot worse with only 88.2 millimetres over summer, an indication that the meagre rain was not consistent across the district.
Official temperature readings at Nilma North last month revealed the warm summer conditions of January continued.
Fifteen of February's 28 days recorded top daily temperatures of 25 degrees or higher with three days exceeding 30 degrees and February 14 topping the chart at 36.1 degrees.
The daily maximum dropped below 20 degrees only twice, to 19 and 18.7 on February 2 and 3.
Overnight temperatures were conducive to sleeping on top of the bed or under a single sheet with the minimum at 14 degrees or higher on 12 nights and on only five did it drop to 10 degrees or under.
Rob McIntosh of K.G. and P.J McIntosh Water Cartage based at Drouin East said the past couple of months had been the busiest for a number of years.
He said farms that rely on tanks and dams were running out of water for domestic use and stock and some even required top-ups for swimming pools.
Persistent strong easterly winds have added to the dryness of the countryside.
Many people that have lived in the region for decades can't recall easterly winds dominating to the extent they have over the past 12 months.
The weather bureau's outlook for autumn - March to May - gives hope that some rain might be on the way.
It calculates at 60 to 70 per cent the chance of exceeding the media rainfall for that period across Victoria.