Community
16 January, 2025
Rain low in 2024
CLEAR skies over Terang and Mortlake saw 2024 prove one of the driest years in the past two decades.
Throughout the year, Terang received 574.8mm of rain, below the long-term yearly average of 776.9mm.
The total result was also a decline from the previous year, with 668.6mm recorded throughout 2023.
The highest monthly rainfall recorded over Terang was during July, when 98.6mm of rain hit the ground – 15.4mm above the monthly long-term average.
The highest daily total occurred on January 8 when 36.2mm of rain hit the ground – almost reaching the 39.9mm long-term average for the entire month in one day.
The driest month was February, when no rain was recorded.
This coincided with a dry period with a 46-day stretch between January 27 and March 13 where no rainfall was recorded over Terang.
Throughout the course of the year eight months saw rain fall below the long-term average, with only January, April, July and December reaching above-average totals.
The year ended on a positive note for farmers who had been hoping for rain, with a healthy 64.6mm hitting the ground in December – above the long-term monthly average of 50mm.
The highest daily rainfall occurred on December 1, with 22mm recorded.
Meanwhile, Mortlake also experienced rainfall below the long-term average with 459.6mm of rain hitting the ground.
The total was below the long-term annual average of 582.7mm, and the 2023 result of 566.2mm.
The highest monthly result for Mortlake occurred in July with an 87.6mm rainfall total, 25.3mm above the July long-term average.
The highest daily rainfall over Mortlake was recorded on March 2, when 31.2mm hit the ground over 24 hours.
The lowest total monthly rainfall result came in February, with just 1.6mm recorded.
Rainfall above the long-term average was only recorded in January, April, July and December – with eight months experiencing rainfall below the long-term average.
The year for Mortlake concluded with 52.3mm of rain hitting the ground, above the long-term average of 40.6mm.
The highest daily rainfall recorded during the month came on December 1, with 19.4mm of rain falling.
* All rainfall figures have been collected from the Bureau of Meteorology.