Worst of downpours ‘skirting’ Geelong as rest of state inundated

Erin Pearson
GEELONG is bucking the trend as other Victorian centres battle flooding, according to a weatherman.
Meteorologist Lindsay Smail said the city’s rain between January and November was only its sixth highest on record, unlike much of the rest of the state.
Geelong was emerging from the recent downpours around Victoria “rather unscathed”, he said.
“Over spring we were talking about it being the wettest spring ever in Victoria but it wasn’t so in Geelong,” Mr Smail said.
“Back in 2007 we had 100 millimetres in November, which was more than we had this year. Out wettest spring was in 1949 when Geelong had 350mm of rain but this year we’ve only had 266mm.”
Mr Smail said towns like Warrnambool and Bendigo were experiencing much-higher-than-average rain but Geelong was on par with previous years.
“Geelong doesn’t follow the rest of the state. We tend to buck the trend quite a bit.
“Geelong’s experiencing higher-than-average rainfall now but we also did in 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2005.”
However, Mr Smail warned residents to brace for extended rain over summer.
“Over the next few months Geelong should continue to see rain. We’re still experiencing a La Nina system, which brings moist air across eastern Australia.
“At the moment, though, it looks like a fine day for Christmas.”
Mr Smail said Geelong had recorded 616mm of rain so far this year compared to its annual average of 520mm.