Farmers welcome long-anticipated rain as parts of Mid West, Murchison flooded in deluge

Farmers are rejoicing after the first significant rainfall in months started falling since the weekend, with back-to-back storm cells delivering a welcome deluge — and for one Mid West station its average yearly downpour in just seven hours.

After a hot and dusty summer, the long anticipated rain fell from last Friday and into this week, with dark, ominous clouds bringing not only thunder and lightning, but double-digit rainfall into the gauges.

But for Josh and Jocelyn Pumpa, owners of sheep and cattle station Murgoo, north of Yalgoo, the inundation was beyond comprehension. In their gauge, they recorded 175mm in one day (overnight on Tuesday) and 213mm over the week.

Mr Pumpa said the rain was welcome, but not so much having it flood the homestead and all the station’s buildings.

“I don’t know whether to be happy or sad. There’s a lot of mud, the carpets are buggered, a lot of clean up to do and water as far as the eye can see,” he said.

“It’ll be fine once everything dries out.”

Everything might be saturated, but Mr Pumpa is thankful there was no major damage or stock losses.

“We had about 130mm come through one time about four years ago, but it left about 200m of dry ground. This time, there’s no dry ground,” he said.

According to the Bureau of Meterology, the areas in the Mid West and Murchison that had the biggest soak between March 24 and 30 were Mount Magnet (86.2mm), Yandanooka (80.6mm), Jurien (73.8mm), Canna (59.4mm), Morawa (59.2mm) and Cue (57.9mm).

In the Wheatbelt, growers also got a decent drink and some reported hail. Kalannie mixed farmers Ricki and Todd Fulwood recorded one of the biggest numbers in the State over the weekend — 86mm.

“It just kept coming, it was crazy,” Mrs Fulwood said.

With the storms having subsided, they took their girls Elsie, 5, and Lucy, 3, out to splash in the puddles.

Mr Fulwood said the rain would enable them to work some dirt and hopefully set them up some moisture for seeding lupins in a few weeks time.

“Everything needed a drink,” he said.

Over the week, Geraldton townsite recorded 41.6mm of rain, while 23mm was in the gauge at the airport.

The deluge in Mount Magnet this week saw its streets flooded.

MID WEST RAINFALL TOTALS

(March 24-30)

Canna: 59.4mm

Carnamah: 42mm

Coorow: 57.1mm

Cue: 57.9mm

Geraldton town: 41.6mm

Geraldton airport: 23mm

Howatharra: 34mm

Jurien: 73.8mm

Meekatharra: 48mm

Mingenew: 17.8mm

Morawa: 59.2mm

Mount Magnet: 86.2mm

Murgoo: 213mm

Nabawa: 47.4mm

Northampton: 23mm

Perenjori: 50.4mm

Port Denison: 19.8mm

Tabletop: 54.6mm

Tenindewa: 54.6mm

Three Springs: 30.2mm

Yandanooka: 80.6mm

Yuna: 28.8mm