Shoalhaven farmers have welcomed the rain over the past two days, but it's not enough to break the drought that's gripped the state for months.
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According to the Bureau of Meterology some parts of the region received up to 20mm in the past 24 hours to 10am (October 5). However, locals have reported up to 90mm in the Kangaroo Valley area.
Fourth generation Kangaroo Valley dairy farmer Trevor Parrish said his gauges have collected 35mm of rainfall since Wednesday.
“It’s some really good rain,” he said.
“We are definitely pleased it’s here and things have really brightened up.”
The bureau measured 18.6mm of rain at Berry over the past 24 hours, 1.6mm at Ulladulla, 3.8mm at Nowra and almost 10mm at Sanctuary Point.
While the rainfall has been sporadic across the region, Mr Parrish said it was “exciting” to finally see some daytime rainfall.
“We’ve had some rain overnight rain in the past few months but this is the first time we’ve had a full day of rain for a long time,” he said.
“This has been a very good soaking.”
The rain, although not enough to break the drought, has come at a perfect time, according to Mr Parrish.
“Anytime is good [for rain], but coming into spring when it’s been dry is really good,” he said.
“The benefit is that everything’s greened up a fair bit, which can also act as a bit of protection for the bush fire season. Green grass slows the fires down.”
Mr Parrish said while he’s seen drier periods in his time, he’d never seen such big frosts.
“It’s rare to see frost in October and we’ve had that,” he said.
“The frost just dries everything out and sends the grass yellow and the cows won’t eat it.”
With more rain forecast to for the remainder of the week, Mr Parrish said he was “getting excited”.
“As it warms up we can hopefully plant some more crops, we’ve been getting a bit excited by the rain and putting some fertiliser down,” he said.
The Bureau of Meterology has forecast more showers for the region over the weekend and has also issued a warning for rough seas with gale-force winds current for the Hunter Coast and Sydney Coast and a strong wind warning also extending to the Macquarie Coast, Illawarra Coast and Batemans Coast.
The heavy rain last night kept the SES busy with 129 calls for assistance and volunteers responding to many leaking roofs around the Sydney Metro area, Illawarra and South Coast.
Madeline Crittenden
Madeline Crittenden is a journalist for Fairfax Media at the South Coast Register.
Madeline Crittenden is a journalist for Fairfax Media at the South Coast Register.
