2021 kicks off with good rainfall
Most areas of Baw Baw Shire received average or better than average rainfall last month.
However, figures compiled by the Bureau of Meteorology show the amounts of rain recorded fluctuated widely among eight centres in the shire where official recordings were taken.
Mount Baw Baw, which has the highest average for January at 96.5 millimetres more than doubled that amount last month with 198 millimetres.
The Nilma North weather station recorded the lowest of the eight sites with 56.4 millimetres, three millimetres above average.
Not much more than a handful of kilometres away Buln Buln received much more, 92.6 millimetres compared to its January average of 65.2.
In Warragul the 70.8 millimetres was 20 above average.
Jindivick was the only site to fall below average, but by only 2.5 millimetres with a total of 72 millimetres for the month.
Thorpdale recorded 85.4 millimetres, 30 above average, while Erica and Yarragon South both topped the 100 millimetres mark in January. Drouin South recorded 11mm.
Erica’s 121 millimetres was 42 millimetres above its average and Yarragon South, with 101 millimetres, almost doubled its average of 54.4 for the month.
Gazette readers reported they had recorded 89.5 millimetres at Drouin in January and 71 millimetres at Longwarry.
Warragul got more than half, 37.4 millimetres of its 70.8 of rain, for the month in the final week.
But it was a big change from last year when only 10.4 millimetres fell in January, a month that over the past 115 years has been consistently inconsistent for rain.
Totals have ranged from a “sprinkle” of just 0.8 millimetres in 1990 to a high of 169 millimetres almost a century ago in 1924.
The Bureau’s statistics for last month show five days reached 30 or more degrees at Nilma North with a high of 36.1 degrees on January 11.
The lowest maximum temperature for the month was 18.9 degrees.
According to the Bureau the next three months are likely to produce near average rainfalls for the region.
February got off to a strong start with more than 40mm already recorded in Warragul. Outer districts such as Ellinbank have received nearly 60mm.