After enduring one of the worst droughts Armidale has had in well over a century, we were delighted in the last three days leading up to Christmas to have had a major rain event. Over this period we must have had c. 32 mm (1 inch = 25 mm) in a series of major storms and loved every minute of it! And the intensity of the rain just yesterday - Christmas eve - led me think that Dumaresq Creek might have been in flood. So Rebecca, who is staying with us over Christmas along with Max, drove down to the creek to look for ourselves. And I was right in my assumption. This is what we saw:
Instead of an almost bone-dry creek bed with no stream-flow at all, we found a considerable flood event and fast flowing water. Footpaths were submerged and police were erecting barriers to prevent motorists trying to navigate a route through the water from one side to the other.
One of the recent surprises for me in recent weeks is that several other small rain events have markedly greened local vegetation. But now I expect struggling trees, shrubs and flowers to get a real boost.
Notice that the parkland on either side of the Dumaresq Creek is fairly green. Of course, places further away from the creek - like where we live - have been really struggling to stay green even with some light showers, but that has been worsened by the very high temperatures we've experienced.
The December average daily maximum is around 26 C, but this year that figure must have been about 32 C - quite an increase!
Armidale is now at level 5 water restrictions, which prevent the artificial watering of gardens except where households catch and store water from showers, clothes laundering, and dish-washing. Showers are nominally restricted to 3 minutes, but that could also mean 6 minutes every two days.
Hopefully, our summer will see a return to average - or better than average - rainfall conditions and our lives can get back to normal. By the way, our adverse conditions are just about nation-wide.
AS
Instead of an almost bone-dry creek bed with no stream-flow at all, we found a considerable flood event and fast flowing water. Footpaths were submerged and police were erecting barriers to prevent motorists trying to navigate a route through the water from one side to the other.
One of the recent surprises for me in recent weeks is that several other small rain events have markedly greened local vegetation. But now I expect struggling trees, shrubs and flowers to get a real boost.Notice that the parkland on either side of the Dumaresq Creek is fairly green. Of course, places further away from the creek - like where we live - have been really struggling to stay green even with some light showers, but that has been worsened by the very high temperatures we've experienced.
The December average daily maximum is around 26 C, but this year that figure must have been about 32 C - quite an increase!Armidale is now at level 5 water restrictions, which prevent the artificial watering of gardens except where households catch and store water from showers, clothes laundering, and dish-washing. Showers are nominally restricted to 3 minutes, but that could also mean 6 minutes every two days.
Hopefully, our summer will see a return to average - or better than average - rainfall conditions and our lives can get back to normal. By the way, our adverse conditions are just about nation-wide.AS
1 comment:
British TV is full of dramatic pictures of heroic firefighters, terrifying fires and ruined homes as well as people fleeing for their lives.
I had to look at the date of your blog to see if it was the right year!
so, is Armidale safe from the forest fires?
Richard Snow.
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