UP TO HIS KNEES: Doctor Stewart Moroney wandered down to Merriwa Park to check on the foundations of his adjoining Ely Street Clinic on Monday, and seeing everything was in order, decided to sit down at one of the park benches and have a foot bath in the flooded park. PHOTO: Steven Burke

Rain records washed away

Written by STEVEN BURKE.

WANGARATTA’S two biggest weather buffs have stopped short of saying the drought is over, though the end could be in sight.

Retired CSIRO weather forecaster, Peter Nelson, said the weekend’s rain, following on from a wetter than average start to the year, had put a fair dent in the drought.

And long range weather forecaster, John Moore agreed, saying the rain could be the beginning of the end of the drought.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s weather station at Wangaratta airport recorded 103.6mm for the weekend, with 71mm falling between 9am Sunday and 9am Monday.

But many backyard rain gauges in town recorded more, with Mr Nelson recording 122.8mm.

Sunday’s rain event was the wettest March day in Wangaratta since 1906, (89.4mm on March 11).

The rain has also put 2010 well ahead on average rainfall.

Some 228mm has already fallen this year, up on the yearly average to the end of March of 99.8mm.

Mr Nelson said it was already Wangaratta’s wettest February-March since 1973.

At the start of the year, Mr Nelson predicted 2010 would be a wet one, but he didn’t expect the rain so early.

"I wasn’t expecting the rain until late March," he said.

Mr Moore was also not expecting rain until later in the month.

"I think it is a break in the season," he said.

"It’s also very possibly a breaking of the drought.