Rainfall in April ‘not going to plan’

Data from citizen meteorologist Jim Morrison, UminaData from citizen meteorologist Jim Morrison, Umina

No rain had been recorded on the Peninsula between April 4 and 19 so the monthly average of 166mm was looking quite unlikely as we went to press.

It was shaping up to be the driest April for the past four years, according to Mr Jim Morrison of Umina’s rainfall data. The most rain recorded on the Peninsula in April since 2015 was that first year when over 400mm was recorded. The following three years have been below Mr Morrison’s 13-year cumulative average with April 2018 appearing to scrape the bottom of the barrel.

As Central Coast Council prepares to make submissions to IPART about its water and sewer fees, residents must be asking if a drought is on the doorstep. In fact, April 2018 was on track to being one of the three driest Aprils out of Mr Morrison’s 13 years of data collection. In 2010 only 56mm was recorded for the month and in 2016 the April total rainfall was 40.6mm. If the last 10 days of April do not become a complete washout, the Peninsula’s progress towards average rainfall for the year had fallen 52.7 per cent behind.

SOURCE: Spreadsheet, 19 Apr 2018 Jim Morrison, Umina