Silly as it may seem to celebrate a little water falling from the sky, in a season that’s been nothing short of catastrophic, the heavens finally cracking open can only be viewed as nothing short of a divine moment.
[jwplayer UiCgyHN2]
Heavy rain has begun falling across the country, in particular across fire and drought-ravaged areas of New South Wales and Victoria.
Late yesterday a front of severe thunderstorms rolling across Victoria brought huge amounts of rain with it. Today, the same associated front is producing heavy rain across large parts of New South Wales, including in areas that have been near-obliterated by the on-going bushfire crisis.
Overnight, the NSW RFS reported that the overall number of fires burning in the state dropped from 88 to 85, with the number of uncontained fires shrinking from 39 down to 30.
As of 8:30am this morning, 85 bush and grass fires are burning across the state, with 30 to be contained. All fires are at Advice. We are starting to see some good falls across some firegrounds. Lets hope some of our farmers are also getting some moisture. #nswrfs #nswfires pic.twitter.com/JY5BXMZnSh
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) January 15, 2020
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, some parts of NSW are forecast to cop as much as 100mm of rain over the next four days, as a complex weather system of humid air creates rolling supercell thunderstorms across the state that will bring sporadic heavy rain across large portions of firefields, as well as across inland farming areas that have been virtually crippled by on-going drought.
Across social media, people have been celebrating the rain’s arrival, and the subsequent (albeit temporary) relief from horrific summer weather conditions it’s brought.
https://twitter.com/Horus1618/status/1217531334853193728
Bring it on! Steady rain falling over Mudgee & looking like our fires will receive a good soaking. #putthefirestobed #rain #NSWfires pic.twitter.com/rnPwn9MssK
— Danny Busch (@DvBusch) January 15, 2020
Finally some #rain at Berala Station!! pic.twitter.com/ndjMJyfrlW
— Amaani Siddeek (@AmaaniSiddeek) January 15, 2020
We’re *so* happy to finally see #rain on campus this morning! ☔️ pic.twitter.com/6oClfYAFGT
— UNSW Science (@UNSWScience) January 15, 2020
https://twitter.com/poovey_pamela/status/1217603500118437888
Sound on the video just doesn’t do justice to how amazing #rain sounds on the roof! 22mm in the gauge pic.twitter.com/wsdAnlEbsu
— Charlotte Aves (@CharlieAves) January 15, 2020
What a sight for sore (dry) eyes… rain falling in the drought-parched Hunter and NSW north west. 😍👏 @gavinmorrisnbn will have the latest, tonight at six. @nbnnews pic.twitter.com/iNfldQ1kJX
— Jane Goldsmith (@janegoldnbn) January 16, 2020
While the rain is a much-needed guest in some parts of the country, others are still left wanting; East Gippsland and Mallacoota in Victoria, where some of the most shocking “red sky” footage emanated, received just 5mm of rain across yesterday, despite heavy downpours in other parts of the state.
Officials are also on high alert due to the increased risk of land slippage and flash flooding that heavy rain on fire ravaged ground can cause.
Still, with rain forecast to stick around for a good few days yet, residents and firefighting crews are finally getting the relief they’ve been desperately craving for months.
Gotta be stoked with that.
