Rainfall update 24 July 2018
Rainfall for the month to date
Rainfall has continued through July, with good falls along the west coast and northern grainbelt. Much of this region has received 80% or more of average monthly rain. The south coast remains patchy, with higher rainfall only near the coast (Figure 1).

Monthly rainfall to date is available from the DPIRD weather stations and radar page (select Month to Date from the drop-down menu).
Seasonal rainfall
Good rain in July has advanced much of the northern and central grainbelt to be close to median seasonal rain to date (Figure 2). South-eastern parts of the grainbelt remain well below normal seasonal rain to date, with much of the South Coast at decile 1.
For graphs of rainfall at individual locations, see DPIRD’s Rainfall to date tool .
Soil moisture
Figure 3 shows relative root zone soil water storage to 23 July 2018 from the Bureau of Meteorology’s Landscape Water Balance model. Rain in July has improved soil water storage for much of the grainbelt; however southern parts of the grainbelt and south coast still have low levels of soil water storage for this time of year.
For soil water estimates at individual locations with and without crop water use, see DPIRD’s Soil water tool.

Potential yield
Potential crop yield is estimated using the French-Schultz relation, and uses seasonal rainfall from1 April to date. Rainfall for the rest of the growing season (to 30 September) is assumed to be decile 5. This model does not account for crop diseases or soil constraints.

Rainfall forecast for the next two weeks
Rainfall forecast for the rest of July is likely to bring monthly rainfall to be near average over most of the grainbelt (Figure 5). Again, relatively small totals are forecast for the south coast.
Similar rainfall patterns are predicted by the US NCEP model for the start of August, as shown in Figure 6.

