HEAVY late spring rains have transformed the Bega Valley into a patchwork of healthy green pastures.
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To date the recorded rainfall for Bega township in November was 186.6mm, and similar totals have been recorded in other parts of the shire.
Rain was accompanied by fierce electrical storms on Thursday and Saturday nights, however Bega State Emergency Services (SES) said it did not receive any calls for help.
The downpours have certainly brought a smile to local farmers, who were concerned about dry conditions throughout the winter.
Angledale dairy farmer Norm Pearce said recent rain was “wonderful”.
“A dry winter leading into a dry spring is always a worry, no rain and no growth when you should be collecting hay and silage makes things difficult.
“But the rain in the past fortnight has been wonderful, everything is a turning a really dark shade of green,” he said.
The Rural Fire Service’s Far South Coast team manager, Superintendent John Cullen, said local RFS brigades are “very pleased” with this month’s rains.
“The Valley is certainly looking very different to the way it did a fortnight ago, and we even had good rain this morning that wasn’t forecast,” he said yesterday.
Superintendent Cullen said the briefing he and other NSW regional team leaders were given in September gave a long-range forecast of hotter than average summer temperatures without the prospect of spring rain.
He has yet to receive an updated briefing for the South East, however he cautioned landowners to not let their guard down.
“We are still looking at predictions of a hotter than average summer,” he said.
“All it will take is a week of hot, windy weather to dry things out and again we have extremely dangerous conditions in back in place for bushfires,” he said.
“People need to still be mindful of the summer ahead and have all their bushfire plans in place.”
