Drought? Maybe Not for Now.

This is the follow up to our post of 4th October.

On 2nd October a severe weather warning was issued for the Illawarra and parts of south coast, central and southern tablelands, the central west slopes and plains.

I had been following this weather system as it crossed the continent from the west.
Details provide by WeatherWatchTV indicated that it could be a substantial rain event.
With that in mind I cleaned out all the house gutters which is not my most favourite job.

Lots of ladder climbing.

Saturday the 3rd started with intermittent showers.
But watching the Bureau of Meteorology radar it was obvious that more was to come.
Around midday the heavens opened up with torrential rain and thunderstorm after thunderstorm.
We had simultaneous lightning and thunder at times.
House rattling stuff.
It continued all afternoon and into the evening.

Our local weather station recorded 60mm for the period.
I believe further south we got more.
They even had a tornado in our nearby town just after midday with near 100km/hr winds.
It caused some damage.

Tornados are not a usual occurrence in our area. I can only remember one other in my lifetime.
Anyway, the upshot was our water shortage is no more.
Our tanks, including the new addition are full to overflowing.
Our dams are looking a lot healthier.

And the creek is running again.

Drought?

Preface:

I wrote this post at the beginning of October.

On Saturday, 3rd of October, the heavens opened up and we had torrential rain and severe thunderstorms over a number of hours.

Our local weather station recorded 60mm but we got a lot more.

There was even a tornado in our nearby town which caused some damage.

The water situation on our property has clearly now changed.

A new post is in the pipeline.

El Niño 

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology notes that Pacific indicators and a strongly negative Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) reflect a robust El Niño signal continuing through spring and summer.
Impacts on Australia:
-Higher Temperatures: Increases the likelihood of extended heatwaves and above-average temperatures, particularly across the southern and eastern parts of the country.
-Reduced Rainfall & Drought: Lowers rainfall totals across many eastern and northern regions, worsening ongoing or developing dry conditions.
-Increased Bushfire Risk: Combined with dry vegetation and a warming climate, the dry and hot pattern elevates the threat of dangerous fire weather heading into the warmer months.

Our rainfall stats throughout the year so far has reflected the second point.

It is even more obvious when you look at the condition of our dams.

They are extremely low and in danger of becoming stagnant and developing algae blooms or are dry.

Thankfully we only have four cows to water but they can consume anything from 30-80 litres each a day depending on temperatures.

We have a plan in place to supply stock drinking water from our domestic supply if things go pear shaped.

Another indicator of drought is the state of our creek.

It’s completely dry for the first time in at least 20 years. 

We can walk along its bed the whole length as it winds itself through our property on its way, 10km or so, from the hills behind us to the coastal lake and eventually the ocean.

Bogong Moths

The bogong moth (Agrotis infusa) is an Australian native temperate species of night flying moth.

It is notable for its biannual long-distance seasonal migrations towards and from the Australian Alps, similar to the diurnal North American monarch butterfly.

During the autumn and winter it is found in southern Queensland, western New South Wales, western Victoria, Tasmania and also in South and Western Australia.

Adult bogong moths breed and larvae hatch during this period, consuming winter pasture plants during their growth. 

Mount Bogong, Victoria 

During the spring, the moths migrate south or east and reside in mountains such as Mount Bogong, where they to spend the hot summer months in a state of dormancy in a highly social group-oriented way until their return towards breeding grounds again in the autumn.

This migration is usually inland, west of the Great Dividing Range.

But strong westerly winds during spring can blow them off course and they arrive in huge numbers in the coastal regions.

They are attracted to light and swarm against residential windows and doors at night.

Here’s our lounge room window 30/09/26

They are not dangerous, just a bit inconvenient.

The species is considered endangered.

Numbers crashed by up to 99.5% between 2017 and 2021 due to severe inland droughts, fires at breeding grounds, pesticide use and climate change.

Warming temperatures degrade their cool summer alpine resting caves.
The moths are environmentally important as they provide a crucial, high-fat food source during spring for wildlife in the Australian Alps, including the critically endangered mountain pygmy-possum. 

And as they travel up to 1,000 km from breeding grounds they act as important flower pollinators.
That the current strong seasonal winds have blown migrating swarms into urban areas like Sydney and the NSW coast is an encouraging sign of potential species recovery.