RAINFALL Geelong was wet in June! An amazing range of rain fell across Geelong’s suburbs and the Bellarine Peninsula in June, from only 24mm at Lara North to over 90mm at Leopold East. Most of this great variation occurred in the 24 hour period ending 9am on the 30th when between 10 and 26mm fell from the Bureau’s forecast “isolated…
Author: Lindsay Smail
May 2010
RAINFALL It was a drier May than average right across the region with most areas receiving around 65% of the normal falls, except at Corio where a couple of heavy downpours contributed to another above average month. However the 3-monthly seasonal totals show a different picture and a close to normal autumn thanks to heavy falls in March. Overall autumn…
April 2010
RAINFALL Below average rainfall was received across most of the urban area, but the northwestern suburbs, eg, Bell Post Hill, recorded 46.2mm which is above average for April. Geelong Airport had 34 mm, which is 12mm short of its average figure. Nevertheless, accumulated rain since January shows a total in Geelong of 142mm, fractionally above the average figure for this…
March 2010
RAINFALL Large areas of the Geelong region have received around double the average March rainfall. Southern Geelong recorded well over 60mm for the month compared to the average 30.2mm. This result means that, after a poor start to the year, February and March have received above average falls so that our 3-monthlyaccumulated figure (108mm) is running 15% higher than normal.…
February 2010
RAINFALL Geelong received average rain across the district for February, apart from the Bellarine Peninsula and some areas to the west in the long-suffering Moorabool catchment. The Otways catchment recorded well above average, with West Barwon Dam at Forrest receiving 79 mm compared to its average 45 mm. Water supplies are not increasing greatly however, owing to the relatively dry…
January 2010
RAINFALL Geelong only received half of its average January rainfall, but it was a better start to the year than 2009. Most of the region had a similar result. Rainfall averaged only about 15-20 mm (the average is 36 mm) across the urban area, but Avalon only recorded 9.2.Otway catchments are reasonably stable at 33%, several % better than at…
Summary of 2009 Weather
(Most figures are from the Bureau of Meteorology station at Mount Duneed – called “Geelong AP AWS”, and averages from 1983-2009) Month Weather Conditions Temps (deg C) Rainfall (mm) Cumulative Rainfall Comments JAN Warmer by 0.4C. New records: max 45.3 on 29th, min 4.5 on 3rd. 8 days >30, incl 3 >43C – worst heat wave since 1908 (4…
December 2009
RAINFALL Generally rainfall in December was below average across the Geelong-Otways Region. Urban Geelong received falls between 25 and 35 mm, compared with the December average 41mm. Rain fell on just 6 days and the heaviest recorded was a fall of around 20mm across Geelong on the 18th. On New Year’s Eve a spectacular electrical storm, which caused only minor…
November 2009
RAINFALL Geelong received well above average rainfall with 75-130 mm falling across the urban area and 90.4 at Geelong Airport. (November average is 51 mm.) Totals varied from 75 mm at Lara to 130 mm at Hamlyn Heights. It has been the wettest month of the year. The western Otways were generally below average because much of the rain originated…
October 2009
RAINFALL Despite a poor monthly total for October, the Geelong region’s rainfall has been around average over the June to October period. As a result, vegetation growth has boomed during the winter-spring and soil moisture levels and the dams are becoming replenished. In October the Geelong urban area received only around 30 mm – Geelong Airport AWS average is 50.8…
September 2009
RAINFALL For the third month in a row Geelong and the surrounding region has had above average rain. Urban Geelong averaged over 60 mm on 16 days in September (wettest September since 2005) and the West Barwon Dam received 114 mm. Even most areas to the northwest such as Avalon, Anakie and Sheoaks reported above average falls. This is a…
August 2009
RAINFALL This is a time for rejoicing in the catchment! The West Barwon Dam at Forrest has received well above average rain for the last two months. August’s figure of 205.6 mm is a welcome return to normal or better winter rains for Geelong’s water supplies which have risen to over 26% of capacity for the first time this year.…
July 2009
RAINFALL The Geelong urban area generally saw around average July rainfalls despite official figures released by the Bureau of Meteorology.Officially the figure at the Airport at Mt Duneed was 32.8 mm for the month, compared to an average 51 mm. However the urban area generally had totals between 30mm in the north and and 60+ mm in the south and…