Drought-stricken farmers hold out hope as weekend rains predicted
It won’t be enough to break the drought but there is a little bit of hope on the horizon for some NSW farmers in the north of the state.
Showers and storms are forecast for the weekend and farmers should see the best rain they’ve had in more than a year.
It has been 15 months since a significant amount of rain has fallen on the Simonds property at Willow Tree.
Farmer Geoff Simonds told 7 News: “You look around the countryside and it’s pretty desperate to look at; you know, bare, dry paddocks.”
But for the first time in a long time rain is forecast.
“Psychologically it helps, for sure, and if it paints things green it’s a lot easier on the eye,” Mr Simonds said.
A system building over Queensland is forecast to spread south, bringing patchy thunderstorms on Saturday.
“It’s some of the best rain those drought-affected areas have seen in quite some time,” Ann Farrell from the Bureau of Meteorology said.
While it could wet some water tanks, it will do little for dire dam levels.
Tamworth’s Keepit Dam is just 10.5 per cent full. Nearby Split Rock Dam is down to 13.9 per cent, while the Menindee Lakes near Broken Hill are at 11.3 per cent of capacity.
“There’s still a fair bit of the state that is going to completely miss out on this rain,” Ms Farrell said.
As much as the farmers are holding out hope for weekend rain, they know it won’t be enough to break the drought.
“The last time they forecast it we didn’t get a drop,” Mr Simonds said.
