More wild weather has hit metropolitan Adelaide, with those in regional parts of South Australia welcoming heavy rainfalls.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Tom Anderson said 42 millimetres had fallen in the past 24 hours in the metropolitan area, while Longwood and Scott Creek in the Adelaide Hills had each received more than 60mm.
“We’ve also already had 70 per cent of the median rainfall for July [in Adelaide] in one day,” he said.
The creek next to the Bridgewater Inn was full due to heavy rains on Thursday. (ABC News: Trent Murphy)
Senior meteorologist Angus Hines said three cold fronts had hit the state in rapid succession, but they were now quickly heading away to the east.
“Not just the Adelaide area, but most areas that are on or near those southern coastlines of South Australia could see some further pulses of wet weather,”
Mr Hines said.
“They’re really racing through now, so that means when it does start to rain, it probably won’t rain for that long before that shower blows overhead and it dries up again.”
One lane on James Congdon Drive at Mile End was closed this morning after water overflowed in an area near the SA Athletics Stadium.
One southbound lane was closed on James Congdon Drive this morning. (891 ABC Adelaide: Bobby Macumber)
State Emergency Services SA state duty officer Kane Murray said it had responded to more than 350 calls for help in the past two days, including a large tree that fell on a house at Mount Barker.
“Most of those have been trees down, and we have seen some minor flooding of businesses and properties as well,” he said.
He said windy weather was still set to hit the South East into Friday.
“There is still a bit of a sting in the tail of this system,” he said.
A severe weather warning for damaging winds is in place for most of the state’s southern coast, along with a gale marine wind warning.
State Emergency Service SA responded to 187 call-outs yesterday and overnight. (ABC News)
Rain welcomed by farmers
Fourth-generation farmer Tom Fielke has 228.5 reasons to smile as rain continues to pour across parts of South Australia this week.
Full rain gauges and tall feeds are hopeful signs for some farmers after several dry years.
At this time last year, Mr Fielke’s farm near Loxton in the Riverland had received 22mm of rain and 78mm the year before that.
So far this year, the record is tipping over 200mm.
“Everyone certainly has much more of a spring in their step, and even a lot of people have been saying to me, ‘Oh, you’re smiling a lot more these days,'” Mr Fielke told 891 ABC Adelaide.
“I didn’t realise that, but maybe I am, but look, 228.5 reasons to smile at the moment.”
Tom Fielke welcomes the rain at his Loxton farm. (ABC News: Will Hunter)
The wheat and barley farmer said he hoped the rest of the year would result in a good harvest, which would help farmers catch up on land payments and machinery costs.
“We are north-east of Loxton and most people out on this side of town haven’t broken even over the last two years. So, there’re just the cold, hard facts,” Mr Fielke said.
“It’s just going to be a few years to play catch-up and obviously cost of machinery these days and repairs. It’s going to be a while before we sort of get back to where we were prior to this dry run.”
SA Dairyfarmers’ Association president Rob Brokenshire told 891 ABC Adelaide the past few months have been good for the industry compared to the last three years.
Rob Brokenshire says dairy farmers are concerned about a wet drought. (ABC News: Stephen Opie)
“At the moment we’ve got feed out the back there where that paddock is and the feed’s over, well nearly 10 inches high,” he said.
“I’ve friends who have got stations in the pastoral country; they were in the driest time they had seen in over 40 years.
“They had the big floods up there earlier this year, and they’ve got feed up to your knees and fat cattle everywhere.”
Mr Brokenshire said having opening rains around early April would help livestock farmers get through winter better.
“Our concern is what we call the wet drought, so it’s so cold, so wet and so muddy that the plants can’t grow, so you’ve got to bring a lot of fodder in for your cows,” he said.
CFS workers clearing downed trees on a road at Bridgewater on Thursday. (ABC News: Trent Murphy)
Yorke Peninsula farmer Dean Price has had a great start to the year but remains cautiously optimistic.
“Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a lot of problems from the past few years. There’s still a lot of debt hanging around and that sort of thing, so that’s got to be taken into consideration,” he told 891 ABC Adelaide.
“But certainly the vibe around the area is a hell of a lot better than it was 12 months ago for sure.”
Mr Price said he looked forward to more rain and moderate temperatures in spring.
“If we could get an inch of rain for the next three months, then yeah, things would be looking really, really good,”
he said.
Kingswood Oval is being protected from damage after several days of heavy rain. (891 ABC Adelaide: Bobby Macumber)
