WHEN THE RAINS CAME
You take what you can get in drought-ravaged NSW. So overjoyed by the November 3 downpour was one Akubra-wearing farmer that he stripped to his undies and ran through his property. Tracy Bennett posted the video to the One Step Closer to Rain (Drought) Facebook group after 38mm of much-needed rain was dropped like a big bucket of liquid happiness on their farm near Tottenham in central NSW. “It’s not drought breaking, but it’s a start,” Bennett wrote. “And I have one very happy farmer!!”
He wasn’t the only one celebrating. Across NSW, children with smiles the size of Luna Park jumped about in the rain or did a little rain dance, while some adults just rolled around in muddy puddles by the side of the road. The rain – the heaviest falls in months – brought relief to communities desperate for water. In the parched town of Bourke, in the state’s north-west, 94mm of precious rain fell in two days, making it the biggest single rainfall event in the area in seven years. “It’s amazing to see a very wet environment after a very dry environment,” Bourke resident Ian Cole told the ABC.
Other thirsty NSW towns that received a good drink included Cobar and Nyngan (42mm) and Brewarrina (51mm). The Riverina city of Wagga Wagga received 55mm, while 40mm was dumped on nearby Griffith. And in the drought-stricken Upper Hunter, Muswellbrook scored 27mm and Scone 23mm. Not nearly enough, but more than welcome anyway.
In the town of White Cliffs, outside Broken Hill, 31mm of rain on November 2 was followed by 43mm the next day. Little wonder Levi Mannion, 3, was dancing for joy. “The kids were just shouting, ‘It’s raining, it’s raining’,” his mother, Shelby-Rae Mannion told The Australian. “It hasn’t rained like this in three years for us.”
But no-one is getting ahead of themselves. The reality is the long-range forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology indicates there will be below average rainfall and warmer temperatures across the summer months. The ongoing threat of bushfires only further fuels concerns for farmers already dealing with the heartbreak of drought.