April has been a very dry month not only in the Albury-Wodonga region but across a wide area of the nation.
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Many places, extending from Mildura right through to Alice Springs, Daly Waters to Broome and Port Hedland, had no rain at all during April.
The outback district of Queensland also recorded no rain during the month of April.
The one main exception was the Gulf region and along the Queensland coast to Mackay, where heavy rain was recorded during the past fortnight.
The heaviest rainfalls were between Port Douglas and Mackay, where totals exceeded 500mm at some locations.
Ingham recorded a total of 775mm - the wettest April since the 1350mm in April 1894.
The two-day rainfall of 382mm last week was also the highest two-day total since the 422mm recorded in April 1894.
Cairns received 830mm during April - its wettest April total since the 1328mm in 1911.
Many locations in North East Victoria extending to as far north as Roma and Oakley in Queensland have had more frosts than usual this April and places in North East Victoria have had the greatest number of April frosts.
Wangaratta has recorded number of 15 days of frosts for April.
Rutherglen has equalled its 1977 April record of 13 days of frosts.
With so many frosts this April, the mean minimum temperature in Wangaratta was 4.9 - more than two degrees below the April average.
There were lower readings in April at Wangaratta in the years 1902, 1996, 1997 and 1999.
At Rutherglen, there were colder April nights in 1977 and 1999.
The below normal minimum temperatures this month extended well north to Roma, Queensland, where the mean minimum temperature this month of 9.7 was nearly three degrees below the April average.
Lower April readings at Roma were in 1909, 1937 and 2008.
It is interesting to note that the first week of May after all of the April frosts in 1977, 1997 and 1999 had warm sunny days, with maximum temperatures reaching 25 degrees.
Heavy rain fell during the third week of May of both 1977 and 1999 in the Albury-Wodonga region.
Mildura is facing one of its driest February to April periods on record.
During the past 138 years at Mildura, there were 10 cases of very dry February to April periods.
Four of these occurred in the past six years. Four of these, as was the case this year, were preceded by a wetter than average January, which led to a wetter winter than normal in our region.
Griffith recorded zero rainfall during the month of April for the first time in 98 years and very heavy widespread rain fell in early June of 1923.
