Parts of the Cobar district have recorded their best rain in years, filling tanks and causing the Yanda Creek to swell to levels not seen for decades.
The creek flooded, cutting the Barrier Highway 15km east of Cobar on Sunday afternoon, after some areas recorded rainfall upwards of 50-100mm over the past week.
After almost three months of no rain and a long hot summer, the rain was widespread and welcomed by locals.
Marie Johnson, at Glenhope (near Yanda Creek) recorded some of the highest falls across the shire with 117mm falling over four days last week.
A total of 45.6mm was recorded at Cobar Meteorological Office between last Wednesday afternoon and yesterday morning, while the Cobar Airport automatic weather station recorded the same.
Karen and Peter Maxwell of Dine Downs (in the far south of the shire) were thrilled to have recorded 66mm in their rain gauge.
“We had been away and I cried when we reached our drive as you could see the dam water from there.
“We dug a dam in September last year and now it’s full to the top,” Mrs Maxwell wrote on social media.
To the west of the shire, Vanessa and Dudley Reschke at Boulkra recorded 11mm in their rain gauge from Wednesday to Sunday.
Jillian and Dominic Prince at Lachlan Downs, south west of Cobar, missed out on considerable rain but were happy to still receive 13mm.
Cobar SES Unit Commander Helen Boddy, reports the unit had two requests for assistance during the recent rain.
“One was to assist the Rural Fire Service in getting two cars out of floodwater on the Barrier Highway, east of Cobar, late Wednesday afternoon and the other was for a leaking roof on Thursday afternoon,” Ms Boddy said.
The rain band which has also soaked much of NSW and Queensland also helped bring some welcome relief from the scorching temperatures of the past few weeks.
The warmest day all week was last Friday, where a top of 30.2 degrees was recorded, while Sunday was the coolest with a top of 22.2.
Overnight temperatures have also been a much more bearable 16-18 degrees all week, a stark contrast to the previous week where a record for February was recorded of 32.6 degrees overnight.
Preparing for Storms
Whether it’s dust or rain, storms can happen anywhere, at anytime of the year so it’s important we are prepared all year round.
Cobar SES Unit Commander Helen Boddy has provided The Cobar Weekly with a list of things we can do to help reduce the potential damage.
Secure items that can blow around in strong wind; clean your gutters, downpipes and drains regularly to prevent blockages; trim trees and branches that could fall on your home or property; fix any damage to your roof ; remember the safety of your pets or any animals you own; keep your Home Emergency Kit handy; and never drive, ride or walk through floodwater.
For emergency help in floods and storms call the SES.
