Steady, above average rain for May

While local dairy farmers are reeling from the effects of a sharp drop in milk prices, they have at least been blessed with steady rainfall before heading into the depths of winter.

A total of 96.9mm was recorded in Warragul last month, slightly above the mean 93.8mm for the past 126 years.

The rain came steadily, falling on 16 days, well above the May average of 11.5 days.

The heaviest falls were on May 20 (14mm), May 11 (13.4mm), and May 27 (11.4mm).

A total of 302.1mm has been recorded so far this year, well down on the long-term mean rainfall for the first five months of 357.6mm.

The rainfall was accompanied by some very warm days, with the mercury reaching 26.4 degrees on May 7 and 24.8 degrees on May 6.

The coldest day was on May 26, when the temperature reached just 11.1 degrees.

The good conditions look set to continue with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting that the June to August rainfall will be above average across most parts of mainland Australia.

There is a proviso: southern Victoria has roughly equal chances of a wetter or drier three months.

The daytime temperature outlook is for warmer than average conditions in parts of southeast Australia, although cooler in the southern mainland.