Rain is not going away
IT HAS been a wet start to the year for Grafton with the Jacaranda city receiving almost double the rain that fell in the same period last year.
Unfortunately, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), there won't be any immediate respite from the wet weather.
In 49 days during the first three months of this year, 642.8mm of rain has fallen on Grafton, more than 220mm above the average.
Grafton's wettest day this year was on February 1 when 129mm bucketed down on the city.
On the other hand, Yamba's 2012 total to date is slightly behind last year's rainfall total for the same period.
To date, 521.5mm have fallen in Yamba, only 10mm behind last year's rainfall figures for the first 82 days of the year.
Despite this, Yamba is currently 36mm ahead of the town's average yearly rainfall.
Yamba's wettest day so far this year was on February 21 when 77.6mm fell.
The BOM is predicting large parts of eastern Australia are likely to have a wet autumn. The bureau's long-range forecast from April to June predicts a greater than 75% chance of above-average rainfall over the far north-east of NSW and South-East Queensland.
According to BOM projections there is an 85% chance of the Clarence Valley receiving 300mm of rain from April to June.
In more positive news, the bureau is predicting the 2011-12 La Niña event is nearing its end, with most indicators approaching or at neutral values. This, hopefully, will signal a decline in rainfall across eastern Australia.
In 48 days during the first three months of this year, 642mm of rain has fallen on Grafton, more than 220mm above the average.
