Paul Rosser 
The word “wet” sums up August 2026 perfectly.
The other question to ponder is, ‘Will we get to 500mm by years end?’
This August we received 103.5mm of good soaking rain, including 48mm on the 26th. The Year to Date figure is 477.5mm. Tanks that were full at the beginning of July returned to full by the end of August. That sets us up for a good flow of rainwater into our homes well into 2027.
Reminders of the creek flooding as in 2016 re-emerged, with lots of fast flowing floodwater down in the valley north of the Aldinga Arts and Eco Village. It is interesting because it flows where no historical creek originally flowed. Many of you may not know that the current creek is in fact a ‘drain’ cut by the District Council of Willunga back in the late 1930’s. It was designed to drain the paddocks that now have vines growing on them. This occurred when horse drawn ploughs were replaced by tractors. These could not cope with the wet soil and got bogged. Many farmers went back to horses until tractors improved.
It is interesting to note that many people are wondering what a once in a hundred-year flood looks like. We had one in 1938 or thereabouts. The previous owner of the Arts Eco Village was a horse trainer and I met him at the McLaren Vale Hospital where his daughter was my boss. He was thrilled to meet someone who lives on his property. We got talking and he said, ‘I hope you are a fair way up on the rise to Port Road’. He witnessed a 5 metre flood down the valley past our northern boundary. It was the biggest rain event ever in the recorded history of the area. The current flood was about 2.5 metres from the creek base by comparison. Thank heavens we have a well-engineered flood mitigation system in the Village. It is worth noting that the Council approval for the Village was ‘for nothing to be planted or placed in our rip raps or ponds, that would impede water flow or affect storage during flood events’. Worth noting!!
How are our comparisons going with previous years, since 2012, when we arrived at the Village & started taking rainfall readings:
2026 103.5mm. (2) 477.5mm YTD (2)
2025 55.omm 313.0mm
2024 42.5mm 259.5mm
2023 40.0mm 408.5mm
2022 83.0mm 334.5mm
2021 54.5mm 356.5mm
2020 61.0mm 354.0mm
2019 39.0mm 263.5mm
2018 82.5mm 249.0mm
2017 93.0mm (3) 392.5mm
2016 112.5mm (1) 543.0mm (1)
2015 37.0mm 362.0mm
2014 19.0mm 314.0mm
2013 80,0mm 406.0mm
2012 55.0mm 435.0mm (3)
The average for August is 58.5mm, so we did fairly well this year, both by month and YTD.
Last month I mentioned about the things that are affecting our weather, namely the Pacific, the Indian and the Southern Oceans. All are warmer than before. Yes, the seas are heating up. That is a scientific fact that cannot be denied at this time.
El Nino is developing as a ‘Super’ one and this is complicated by the warming Indian and Southern Oceans. If it was a normal El Nino we could expect drought. If it was normal Indian Ocean dipole we could expect average rainfall in summer. If it was a normal Southern Ocean we could expect average affect. This year all three are ‘HOT”. This is very rare. The biggest ice shelf in Antarctica has failed to ice over this year, which is not usual. In Tibet/Nepal this week we have a glacier melting rapidly causing many deaths and mayhem. In our country there is less snow than normal on the alps. All are effects of Global Warming.
Meteorologists are having trouble modelling for such events as their outcomes are based on normality over time. This year is different in the extreme. Given our winds come in an arc from north via the west to the south west and all are getting hotter than usual, the rate of sea evaporation should provide more atmospheric moisture /rain. Darren Ray, the leading South Australian weather man, feels we could get above average rains in November. This heat could also provide more ’dumps’ of 25mm+ falls accompanied by thunder and lightning over summer. Look out for the Clouds coming in from the direction of Broome in WA. More Tropical Cyclones could be around, as a result of the higher sea temperatures. We’ll just have to wait and see what eventuates. Interesting times for sure.
That’s it for this month. Look forward to more rain and passing that 500mm mark.
Enjoy the spring time while you can.
Paul
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