5PM UPDATE: The rains have put another 2mm in the gauge since 9am, at least at the official weather station at the Glen Innes Ag Station.
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The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for heavy rain and large hail that includes the Northern Tablelands, but locations likely to be affected are in the more-southern parts of the region.
The falls are predicted to ease this evening for a mostly-clear Friday morning, with more rain and possibly thunderstorms Friday afternoon. There should be some respite from the wet weather on Saturday before returning to the same pattern of afternoon storms on Sunday .
EARLIER: As the farming community and its supporters look forward to some consistent downpours, the drizzle continues with the past wet week delivering a total of only 27 millimetres into the official rain gauge.
Of that total, 6.0 mm fell on Wednesday night, sounding heavy on the roof at times.
While nobody will knock back any precipitation, it still falls well short of filling dams and getting creeks and rivers flowing again.
While 1954’s record-breaking 267.1mm of rainfall for October may be a vain wish, month-to-date rainfall of 57.8 mm could be on-track to meet the long term average of 109.2mm, this month at least.
Bureau predictions for the next few days are for the drizzle to continue, with possibilities of good rain if you’re under the right storm cloud.
Last week the Bureau revised its ENSO (El Niño/Southern Oscillation) Outlook to El Niño Alert, meaning the chances of an El Niño forming during Spring is now 70 per cent or roughly three times the normal risk. It said an El Niño in Spring typically means below average rainfall across eastern and northern Australia.
Long-range forecasting manager Dr Andrew Watkins said if these conditions were to occur, the chances of drought-affected areas in eastern Australia making a recovery over the coming months would unfortunately be lowered.
"Like everyone in the Australian community, the Bureau of Meteorology is hoping regions being affected by drought will recover soon. However, if an El Niño were to occur, we're more likely to see drier and warmer than average conditions.”
