WITH a week still left to run in the season, Hamilton has broken its spring rainfall record with 335 millimetres up to 9am yesterday morning, the next-highest tally being 320mm in 1992.
Local records go back to 1878 and only three other years have gone over 300mm for the months of September to November – 1887, 1893 and 1916, with 303, 304 and 307mm respectively.
Last Saturday’s substantial rainfall of 21.4mm in the 24 hours to 9am Sunday secured the record, with farmers and outdoor event organisers in the region likely to see ongoing wet conditions for at least a couple of weeks.
Hamilton’s (mean) average spring rainfall is 185mm and the 2022 spring total represents more than half the average annual rainfall in just three months.
It’s not just the moisture, it’s unseasonably cold too; the (mean) average November maximum is running 2.9 degrees Celsius colder than average; it’s no wonder wood fires, heaters and extra blankets are still widely in use this late in the year.
14 of the 22 days so far this month have been below average maximum temperatures.
Strong west to south-west winds have also contributed to wind chill in the last few days, with a perceived temperature of minus 5.1 degrees Celsius being recorded at 11.50am on Monday, with gusts of up to 64 kilometres per hour.
The Hamilton November-only rainfall record looks like getting a nudge too, with the record of 126mm set in 1970 the only year left still exceeding 2022; at 9am yesterday the total was 110mm; it’s only the tenth time in 144 years the month has gone to three figures.
Nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain
THE Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) expect that La Niña will continue for a few more weeks, with the abnormal tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures gradually normalising heading towards January.
Warm waters around the top half of Australia help to push tropical moisture across Australia.
The Indian Ocean Dipole, which has also been contributing to the increased rainfall, has been in a negative but is more advanced in the process of returning to neutral, typical of heading into summer; by Christmas it is expected to have fully decayed.
However, in the meantime, the south-west can expect to have above-average rainfall and below-average temperatures until around mid-December.
Sheep calm and carry on
AUSTRALIAN Wool Network Hamilton wool store manager, Todd Moon, said shearing delays due to wet sheep are “snowballing everywhere” and the industry was “just getting further and further behind, the more rain we have”.
“I was talking to a lady the other day, the shearer told her to get ready for shearing,” he said.
“So, she got her sheep in, got them dried and he rang up and said, ‘look, I’ll be gone for another week, because I haven’t even left the shed that I started’ – and that’s happening everywhere.”
Firgrove Poll Merino Stud co-owner, John Sutherland, said they hadn’t been as badly delayed as others but still conceded the prevalence of moisture and mud made shearing harder.
“(There’s) the hassle of bringing them through water and long grass,” he said.
“(But) the sheep seem to be coping OK.”
The conditions have also prompted Agriculture Victoria (AV) to issue a notice for dairy farmers “to be aware of an increased risk of mastitis”.
AV dairy industry development officer, Richard Smith, said information on managing and treating mastitis was available on the Dairy Australia website and farmers should be proactive.
“There are a number of simple things farmers can do to manage the risk of mastitis developing in their cows, including maintaining good hand hygiene when milking and ensuring teats are clean before and after milking,” he said.
Not just rain falling
THE weekend even saw snow falling in the Grampians at its tallest peak, Mt William, with a light dusting evidencing the cold conditions.
Furthermore, with the unusually-soft earth conditions, the SES have also reported an increase in falling trees; strong gusts of wind are blowing over trees that would normally remain standing – the Hamilton Botanic Gardens oak tree that recently fell over being a well-publicised example.
The BOM has even issued a warning that power poles could give way, with the ground at saturation levels.
Hamilton SES deputy controller, John McKenzie, said some trees were “just randomly popping out of the ground” but the unit had surprisingly not been super busy despite the severe weather.
“This weather so far hasn’t caused any major damage or any major jobs,” he said.
The State Emergency Service (SES) number is 132 500.
Stay informed by monitoring weather warnings, forecasts and river levels at the BOM website at bom.gov.au, warnings through the VicEmergency app and local radio broadcasts.
More information about La Niña can be found at bom.gov.au/climate/enso and more information about managing mastitis in dairy cattle can be found at bit.ly/3AWTF0P
For life-threatening emergencies call Triple Zero (000).
