ABOVE average rainfall drenched the south-west in October.
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The Bureau of Meteorolog says Warrnambool and its surrounding areas experienced less rain than September but was still well above the monthly average.
Warrnambool saw a total rainfall of 92.6mm – almost four times higher than last October’s amount of only 23.2mm.
The average rainfall in Warrnambool for October is 60.9mm, placing last month more than one-third above the monthly mean.
Port Fairy saw similar results with 87.4mm this month compared to the mere 7.6mm received last October.
Port Fairy’s total was well above the monthly average of 51.9mm.
Hamilton followed the trend seeing 93.2mm of rain – almost seven times higher than this time last year.
However, Portland washed away all other centres by receiving the highest total rainfall of 114.8mm, compared to last year’s drizzle of 7mm.
Warrnambool’s wettest day was October 21 with 14.8mm of rain – almost one-sixth of the monthly total in just 24 hours.
Portland saw a peak of 23.8mm of rain on October 18 – almost one-fifth of its total monthly rainfall that day.
The south-west also experienced a cool October, with the mercury only reaching a maximum of 25 degrees in Warrnambool.
October last year saw Warrnambool’s maximum temperature peaking at 32.7 degrees.
Similarly, Port Fairy, Portland and Hamilton experienced the same decrease in temperature compared to last October, leaving locals wondering where spring has gone or if it will arrive.
The outlook for November suggests the wet spring will lose momentum, with the Bureau predicting a better than average chance of rainfall between 25mm and 50mm, on par with the monthly mean.
The bureau says there is also about a 65 per cent chance rain in November will not rise above 50mm, with December looking to be of a similar average.