Weather

Ex Tropical Cyclone Lincoln has certainly made its presence felt around Tennant Creek over the weekend with close to 200mm of rain falling over the two days.

The North East Catchment Authority (NECMA) is in the process of undertaking flood recovery works on a further five high priority cases in the catchment including a creek in the Upper Murray. The five cases were selected following an assessment process that takes into account any risks including the threat to public infrastructure and river health if no action is undertaken.

Jenny Pollard. Two days after last Tuesday’s storm which created so much havoc across Victoria, it was hard not to be shocked by the damage Charlton sustained from just a few minutes of mother nature’s fury. On Thursday last week, the majority of visible wreckage from what appeared to have been a mini tornado, was the countless trees and massive tree limbs fallen on roadsides...

Hitting the Queensland roads in February and March, audiences in  Gympie, Townsville, Cairns, Rockhampton, and Bundaberg  are destined to be uplifted and enthralled by six stories of strength and resilience in the one original and heart-warming theatre production of  GRIT. Developed in 2022 after Gympie’s devastating floods ...

CFA is urging farmers to ramp up their hay maintenance for the remainder of the season, following a surge in haystack fires, with CFA responding to more than 50 since November. Igniting predominantly in the western parts of the state across the Wimmera and Loddon Mallee, CFA has responded to 29 in the North West region and 12 in the West region.

Canegrowers and the Australian Cane Farmers Association are calling on the State Government to support Mossman’s recovery as the far north Queensland community continues to struggle in the aftermath of ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper.

Australia Day dawned less than sunny last Friday, and unfortunately for all those looking forward to watching the annual Australia Day Awards being presented and then participating in the fun to follow. Preparations were well underway when the sky opened up, and unfortunately, due to safety concerns arising from the lightning, Australia Day events were postponed.

Recent rain and wild weather has prompted the Invasive Species Council to call on residents of northern NSW to be on alert for Fire Ants following concerns the weather could accelerate the spread of the invasive pest ... The Invasive Species Council is concerned that Fire Ants can form rafts during flood events or high rain, or stowaway in freight or soil, increasing their spread into NSW.

Last Wednesday saw a mammoth amount of rainfall and winds across the district including Yanac, Diapur and Boyeo. Brett Wheaton at Yanac South measured 86mm and said there was a lot of flooding, including Yanac Creek and the swamp was filled.

For an organisation that invests a considerable portion of their half a billion dollar budget predicting what’s going to happen in 100 years’ time, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has fallen short on the all-important, short term forecasts ... Farmers want less climate change lecturing on the doomsday predictions of global warming, and more lectures on the complexity of the dynamic system that actually influences the day to day, week to week, and month to month rain and temperature that impacts their annual production.

Predictions of the nation’s weather holds tremendous weight. In September, the BOM’s El Nino predictions and the subsequent media hysteria saw cattle and sheep markets collapse as growers responded to the best available computer modelling ... the monthly rainfall predictions took until January 3 to predict a wetter than average month.

On New Years Eve storm cells built up between Clifton and Allora with the most damage happening in Allora. On the corner of Forde and Warwick Streets two huge old gumtrees were torn out of the ground, roots and all.

Will Hunter. Residents on West Terrace, Kadina, are pleading with Copper Coast Council for improvements to surrounding stormwater facilities before further rain. Two recent events, including almost 98 millimetres of rain in Kadina over four days at the start of December, have put residents on flood watch.

In response to the extreme bushfire season of 2019-2020, the Royal Commission made 15 recommendations. The recommendations were released in October 2020. The 15 recommendations fell under Federal Government responsibility. They have all been implemented and completed.

In a sudden storm several trees fell down on the Summerland Way at Leeville at 1.30pm, Saturday December 16. Emergency services were called to reports of a crash on the roadway near Crawford Road.

Recent flash flooding in Naracoorte was the result of a new two-day rainfall record, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. The official two-day rainfall total in the 48 hours to 9am on November 25 was 117.8 mm. “(It) is not only a new November record, but also an annual record in the bureau observations at Naracoorte – current and former site – since 1884.”

Andrew Smith, Rural Bank Head of Agribusiness Development said: “As was the case for 2023, the three key themes that will impact Australian agriculture in the first half of 2024 continue to be seasonal conditions, trade conditions and economic headwinds, but looking to the upside, a more favourable economic environment is expected to begin supporting agricultural markets in the back half of 2024."