Expect warmer days and less rain this winter

Farmers awaiting winter rains look likely to be disappointed, as the national forecaster releases its predictions for a warm, dry winter for most of the country.

Australia is set for a warm, dry winter, according
 to forecasts from the Bureau of Meteorology.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology’s release on Thursday, drought-ravaged Queensland is not expected to hit historical averages for rainfalls for June to August.

The bureau further tipped a drier-than-average winter for New South Wales, Victoria, south-eastern South Australia, northern Tasmania, the Northern Territory, and parts of Western Australia.

Read The New Daily story - “Expect warmer days and less rain this winter.”

Dam levels across NSW continue to hold despite record dry winter

Despite a record dry winter and extremely warm daytime temperatures in New South Wales over the last four months, the state's dams are still relatively full.

One of the world's largest, Hume Dam is
still nearly full despite a record dry winter.

"It is counterintuitive, I know, but despite the long dry winter with almost four months without decent rainfall the dam storages are still very high," said Tony Webber, a spokesman for Water NSW.

"On-farm storages are being drawn down, but the big state-run dams are still holding between 80 and 90 per cent.

"From the point where dams are full, even if we have zero inflow, we still have between two and three years of water stored in our state dams.

Of the big dams, Hume Dam near Albury — one of the biggest in the world — is at 91 per cent, Wyangala is at 85 per cent, Blowering Dam is at 79 per cent, Burrendong is at 77 per cent and irrigation dam Burrinjuck at 61 per cent.

Read the ABC News story by Michael Condon - “Dam levels across NSW continue to hold despite record dry winter.”