This is another of these fascinating cases where top Australian politicians seem unable to get the simple facts of rainfall correct. Is this more evidence of a national delusion where rainfall is concerned ?
Premier Nathan Rees is quoted in the ABC Online news story copied below that Tamworth had “..been drought-stricken for some time..”.
I have just downloaded a series of 7 BoM (Australian Bureau of Meteorology) drought maps for all periods, 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 and 36 months, see below and there is no sign of drought near Tamworth for those periods.
It is telling that the article refers says, “While the rain has broken the drought, valuable crops have been destroyed, including one of the best winter grain crops in the region for years.” Nobody has the common sense to ask, how could such a good crop be grown in a drought ?
It may well be that the NSW Govt is still paying out drought relief to the Tamworth region years after any drought (maybe pre 36 months ago) has ended. I have been aware for years that the Govt pays out drought relief to areas where actual rain bears no resemblance to that indicated on BoM drought maps, see my 2005 article, “Are Martians growing Australian wheat ?”.
Anyway read on to see the reality of the current BoM drought maps for NSW
More
BoM drought for 3 months preceeding November 2008
BoM drought for 6 months preceeding November 2008
BoM drought for 9 months preceeding November 2008
BoM drought for 12 months preceeding November 2008
BoM drought for 18 months preceeding November 2008
BoM drought for 24 months preceeding November 2008
BoM drought for 36 months preceeding November 2008
Floodwaters peak in storm battered Tamworth ABC Online News 29 Nov 08
The State Emergency Service is continuing to respond to calls for help after heavy rain caused flooding at Tamworth in north-western New South Wales overnight.
The city has been cut in two by the Peel River which has been swollen by run-off from the flooded Cockburn River and Goonoo Goonoo Creek, after major storms hit the area last night.
Namoi SES controller Andrew Galvin says they have received 170 calls for help, but the flood waters appear to have peaked.
“We have flood holding at six metres in Tamworth,” he said.
“That is obviously the level that closes Bridge Street access between east and west Tamworth.
“We are expecting that the river will probably hold steady at the existing flood height of six metres.”
Business owners in the low lying industrial area of Taminda are hoping they may have escaped most of the flooding because of the city’s partially completed levee bank
But Mr Galvin says there are fears it might not be able to hold the water back.
“The levee is incomplete. It runs three quarters of the length of Taminda,” he said.
“With a flood at the height we’ve got, there’d normally be water right through Taminda but that’s not the case.
“I was unsure what the flood behaviour would be at this particular height but it looks like a good outcome for most of the businesses in Taminda.”
‘Dual-edged sword’
New South Wales Premier Nathan Rees says he is still being briefed on the situation.
“As far as I’m aware everything’s under control in Tamworth,” he said.
“But 150 millimetres of rain over the last 24 hours in an area that’s been drought-stricken for some time – it’s the dual-edged sword that rural Australia is so used to.”
While the rain has broken the drought, valuable crops have been destroyed, including one of the best winter grain crops in the region for years.
At the same time however, the flooding is putting a large volume of water into the Namoi River that will eventually find its way into the Murray-Darling Basin.
Emergency services say they had several scares overnight after more than eight people were rescued after being stranded in floodwaters.
Dale Kimball of the Tamworth Regional Council says some motorists are continuing to put their lives at risk.
“We’ve actually had motorists get out and move road closed signs, so they could drive through dangerous areas,” he said.
Now the people of Gunnedah downstream from Tamworth are bracing for the floodwaters to come their way in the next 24 hours.
Note that the crop was destroyed by too much rain, yet somehow the ‘drought’ is the problem. Perhaps, the most disturbing aspect of the whole AGW circus is how it has exposed how many people seem to lack the basic capacity to perform the simplest of analyses.