A quick post with some pre Christmas updates.

Today we’ve got some very humid air over us – and to some depth in the atmosphere as well. We’ve also got the sun shining, temperatures rising quickly and a trough lurking nearby…All of which combine to give us a decent chance of more showers and storms this afternoon. Here’s the forecast rain total from one of the key models through until 8pm tonight:

The nature of showers and storms mean that some will likely see less, while others could see considerably more. I’d be thinking close to the north south range as well as the Dorrigo / Coffs range for the biggest totals, with the coast still in with a good chance as well. A heap of available moisture plus very wet soil means run-off will happen quickly with any storms – be aware that rivers can rise quickly with heavy storms. All the latest river heights on the Kombu Floodcam as well as the Bellingen Weather Rivers page. It’s worth flagging that we’re not looking at a repeat of last week – rather the chance of some quick rises with storms should they occur.

Some good news – the Never Never gauge is back online:

This gauge went offline during the floods last week. The BoM explained that it was because some of the data it was spitting out was looking dodgy – as such they took it offline to keep their flood modelling as accurate as possible. You can check live Never Never heights on the BoM site and also on our local rivers page.

Another update – the Air Quality Index has been available for some days on the front page of the Bellingen Weather website. It’s now also available in graph form – you’ll find it on the Trends page – check the Air Quality tab. Background information about the Air Quality Index can be found here.

…not sure what happened just before 1am this morning – suspect someone smoking nearby. Looking further ahead we’re still looking at wetter than average conditions through the remainder of summer. Here’s the latest forecast for Jan / Feb / March from a blend of the top models:

Once we head further into our winter our weather tends to dry out a little – and on top of that it looks like we’ll head back down into drier conditions as well with anomalies heading back towards average. By that time we’ll likely be looking out for some drier weather!

I’ll post again with new updates as the weather develops. In the meantime wishing you a fantastic Christmas and New Year.

Images: Meteologix / Bellingen Weather / BoM / Columbia University