By Jeremy Cook
Winter began drier than usual for the Southern Downs, but forecasters expect that trend to reverse for the remaining cool months.
Rainfall totals were lower than average for Warwick and Stanthorpe across June, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
But a wet start to July meant rainfall totals have already surpassed the monthly average for Warwick with Stanthorpe almost halfway to reaching its July average, bureau data showed.
Bureau meteorologist Angus Hines said “a couple of low pressure troughs” had brought rainfall to inland areas of Australia’s east, including southern Qld, in the early parts of the week.
Meteorologists have forecasted for those seasonably wet conditions to continue for the next three months.
The bureau’s latest long-range forecast, issued last Thursday, reported average rainfall would likely be higher across the southern half of Queensland, most of New South Wales and parts of central Australia.
Night time temperatures have also proved warmer than usual across the Southern Downs for the first nine days of July. Warmer temperatures are expected to continue through to the end of winter right across the country, the national forecaster predicted.
