Southern Queensland is one of five areas of Australia with below average rainfall in 2026.
Others are the west of Western Australia, north-eastern New South Wales, Tasmania and parts of southern Victoria.
A Bureau of Meteorology rain update, released today, said that September rainfall was “very much below average” across much of eastern Australia.
Areas with 24-month rainfall deficiencies expanded and intensified in southern Victoria and Tasmania and persisted in the south-west of Western Australia.
The update said that low rainfall in southern Queensland was likely to “contract” by the end of the year.
“Below-average soil moisture intensified across eastern Queensland, while strengthening along the coastal and adjacent ranges of New South Wales and Victoria, in addition to persisting through the south-west of Western Australia,” the BOM said.
“Evaporative stress increased across south-eastern Australia, becoming more widespread through New South Wales and Victoria, while remaining elevated across Queensland, Tasmania, and parts of Western Australia.”
The Bureau also said that streamflow was lower than average at many sites across southern Queensland, northern New South Wales, Victoria and the south-west of Western Australia.
“Some water storages in the eastern and southern states are at or below 50 percent of their capacity,” it said.
“Groundwater levels were below average and persist across parts of southern Australia.”
The full report is here.
