Latest news with #drought relief
ABC News
22-07-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Heaviest rain and snow in years ahead for southern Australia
The wait for significant drought relief is finally over. After two years of high-pressure domination, a triplet of low-pressure systems is about to deliver rain across nearly every agricultural region of Australia, and for once, the best falls will reach all the right places. Rainfall this week is likely to be the heaviest in one to two years for much of South Australia and the southern Murray Basin, while many Western Australian farmers are rejoicing through the wettest July in four years.
ABC News
21-07-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Heaviest rain and snow in years ahead for southern Australia, set to bring drought relief
The wait for significant drought relief is finally over. After two years of high-pressure domination, a triplet of low-pressure systems is about to deliver rain across nearly every agricultural region of Australia, and for once the best falls will reach all the right places. Rainfall this week is likely to be the heaviest in one to two years for much of South Australia and the southern Murray Basin, while many Western Australian farmers are rejoicing through the wettest July in four years. Across alpine regions, the winter storms will dump further heavy snow — laying the platform for the 2025 ski season to rival some of the best so far this century. The ingredients for widespread rain are lining up on the weather maps this week. Three rain producing fronts will sweep across southern states, but unlike standard fronts, each will lead to the formation of a low-pressure system near our southern coastline — the exact pattern which has been notably absent during recent years. To complete the recipe for a solid soaking, an infeed of tropical moisture will flow into system two, which along with its relative slow movement, will ensure more than just passing showers. Front number one already hit WA on Sunday, dropping up to 35 millimetres on the coast and up to 22mm over the wheat belt. The system then swept into SA on Monday while spawning a low-pressure system in the Bight, and continues to track east on Tuesday, spreading showers over south-east Australia. During the next 48 hours, the SA coast, along with the ranges of New South Wales and Victoria can expect around 10 to 20mm of rain, however this system is just a taste of the main event. Another powerful front will reach south-west WA late Wednesday, and this system will cause the development of a band of cloud across Australia's interior on Thursday as it draws moisture south from the northern Indian Ocean. This rainband will then intensify on Friday and wrap around a developing low near Eyre Peninsula, leading to the most widespread day of rain SA has seen in several years. The band of rain will then spread across eastern states from late Friday to Sunday, stretching thousands of kilometres from tropical Queensland to Tasmania. Sunday will also see a third vigorous front arriving on the shores of WA, leading to another burst of widespread showers for the southern half of the state. Below is a forecast map of rain across the next eight days from a leading global model, and it shows at least 20mm across nearly all agricultural areas of southern Australia, and up to around 100mm around the Alps along with small pockets of the WA and SA coasts. For many regions in drought, the upcoming week should produce the heaviest falls in well over a year, including： Widespread rain will also spread to areas of eastern Australia further north which are not in drought, with up to 20mm landing as far north as tropical Queensland. Of course, one swallow doesn't make a season, and what's critical for sustained drought relief is follow up falls. After drenching WA on Sunday and Monday, the third front will likely reach south-east states by the middle of next week, while medium range outlooks are favouring further fronts through the beginning of August. This all points to an easing of the current drought, at least in the short term, although it will take several months of good rain and restocking before farmers consider the drought may be breaking. Forecasts for this winter hinted at drought relief, and that's an outcome which is paying off, however what's more unexpected is the snow season. Heavy snow in June and July has lifted the natural snow depth at Spencers Creek, between Perisher Valley and Charlotte Pass, to around 1.5 metres — about 40 centimetres above average for this point in the season. After a wintry mix of rain and wet snow on Tuesday, the upcoming series of fronts should deliver at least 50cm of fresh snow this week. For Spencers Creek, which is a representation of the snow quality on the higher slopes, this week's storm should comfortably send the season's peak depth to near 2 metres — a mark which has only been reached eight times this century. Considering snow normally continues to accumulate through August, and occasionally through September, a platform has been laid for potentially the best ski season since at least 2000.
