Rochester is on track to register its wettest start to winter after Bureau of Meteorology figures revealed almost 60 millimetres of rain was recorded last Thursday.
The wettest June on record is 107.5mm in 1923, from records kept since 1904.
Last week’s downpour represents more rain in a 24-hour period than was recorded for the entire month of June in all but one of the past 16 years.
In 2014, 90.4mm fell for the month, including 31mm on the first day of winter and 21mm on June 13.
Apart from that, the town has not experienced as wet a start to winter as it has in 2023.
In 2005 there was not a single drop recorded in the first eight days of winter, then rain on 12 of the next 15 days led to a 67.4mm total for the month.
Apart from 1923, since records have been kept, there has been only one other year when June has topped the 100mm mark, with 104mm falling in June 1991.
The 58.8mm rainfall registered from 9am on Wednesday, June 7, to 9am on Thursday, June 8, took the tally for the month to 68mm for the month from four days of rainfall.
It is, by far, the most rainfall recorded for any 24-hour period in 2023. Next best is April 16 when 27mm of rain fell and January 18 when 18.2mm was recorded.
So far this year there has been less than 220mm of rainfall, meaning Rochester is marginally behind its average yearly level of 444.6mm.
The 58.8mm downpour of June 7-8 was bettered last year by just one other 24-hour period and no guesses when that was October 13 (70.2mm). That was followed the very next day by 30mm.
For the entire year, only one other day challenged last week’s total, being the 47.6mm of rainfall on April 19.
The wettest winter on recent record was 2016, when almost 240mm of rain was recorded for the season. Last year’s rainfall total for winter was 153mm.
The highest tally for winter was in 1917 when 260mm of rain fell in a year when 620mm was recorded.
That total, however, is insignificant given the events of 1973 (Rochester’s record rainfall year) when 983.1mm of rainfall fell, including 193.6mm in February and two other 100mm-plus months.
Rainfall was consistent across the entire district last week, with Kyabram recording 53.2mm, Tongala 50.4mm and Echuca 44.4mm.
Rushworth registered 57.2mm, while Bendigo airport recorded just 38.8mm and Kerang 47mm.
This week the forecast was for significant amounts of rainfall and, at least in the north-east of Victoria, those predictions were not far off the mark.
Flood warnings were commonplace on Thursday morning after more than 100mm of rain was recorded at weather stations including Seven Creeks at Strathbogie, Honeysuckle Creek at Violet Town and 112mm at Whitfield in the King Valley.
To the west of the “storm’s eye’’, at Seymour, 61.6mm was recorded and to the east (at Mount Hotham) 81mm was registered. To the north, 47.3mm fell at Benalla and in the south, 68mm fell at Marysville.
Plenty of conversation starters for those who enjoy talking about the weather.