ALBURY has almost doubled its average December rainfall in the first three days of the month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A combined 79.8mm has fallen at the airport weather station up to 9am on Sunday with the biggest dump of rain coming in the 24 hours to Saturday morning of 49.6mm.
A further 29.6mm has fallen, but totals have been well short of predictions of between 100 to 150mm leading into the weekend.
Albury’s December average rainfall is 40.1mm with the most rain recorded in the month since the station opened in 1993 being 116mm.
The highest daily amount recorded in the region was at Falls Creek with 114.2mm up to 9am Saturday.
Benalla set a December daily rainfall record with the 76.8mm for the same period and Wangaratta’s 55.2mm was shy of the 61.4mm monthly daily rainfall record.
The 56.6mm falling in Yarrawonga in the same period was also just short of the monthly daily rainfall record 57.6mm recorded only seven years ago.
North of the border, Culcairn had 46.8mm up to 9am Saturday, but the figure was well short of the December daily rainfall record of 119mm recorded on December 3, 1960.
The town’s average December rainfall is 47.4mm.
Corryong has had 85.2mm in the past 48 hours.
The spring rainfall amounts for the same centres were Albury (134.8mm), Wangaratta (86.6mm), Benalla (101.9mm), Yarrawonga (120.6mm), Culcairn (148.7mm) and Corryong (134.4mm).
Grain crops on both sides of the border are expected to be the hardest hit by the unseasonal high rainfall amounts in recent days.
Full extent of the damage won’t become clearer until midweek, but many growers are resigned to a downgrade.
Some have conceded the rain could have been a lot worse and hope some drying winds in coming days can soften any blow.
Sheep and cattle producers will be buoyed by the rainfall with lamb and beef prices set to spike.
But fruit growers are fearing humid conditions and resultant brown rot.