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WA competes with NSW over rainfall

Sam Terry, Saturday May 20, 2017 - 12:57 AEST

A lot of attention has been given to the significant rainfall totals over NSW and parts of QLD, some of which were the highest in decades for May, but what about the other side of the country? Does Western Australia have anything to say for itself?

It turns out a trough and cold front have worked together to deliver some widespread and large rainfall totals over a couple of days. The region in a triangle from Mandurah to Beaumont to Bunbury was already deluged with 30-50 mm to 9am yesterday (Friday 19th). Last night, the front gave it another go, with a line of storms dropping another 5-15 mm to the area.

Yesterday was Collie East's wettest May day in five years, and got another three millimetres to 9am this morning. Dumbleyung, further east, picked up 28.6 mm to 9am yesterday, their wettest May day in 12 years, and storms brought another eight millimetres overnight. With these storms, when they hit the coast with the front, Cape Leeuwin was buffeted with a 94 km/h wind gust, enough to rip a branch off a tree. Cape Naturaliste was hit with something similar, a 91 km/h wind gust.

As for the state's growing capital, Perth, it only received one millimetre of rain to 9am yesterday, and another eight afterward. This is a pointer, despite the large totals already mentioned, that the southwest in general is well below the monthly rainfall average.

Showers should become more isolated for the coastal areas today, before another front hits later tonight, delivering a further 10-20 mm into tomorrow.

- Weatherzone

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