Patchy rainfall throughout Victoria the past week has been welcomed by some farmers and caused headaches for others.
Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Chris Godfred said the heaviest rainfalls were recorded in the eastern ranges and The Alps, north of Sale and Bairnsdale.
He said in central and east Gippsland, there was fairly widespread rain of about 50 millimetres (with some point totals of above 80mm) in the three days to Monday morning, with enough rain having fallen for streams in those regions to have risen.
In the north of the state, thunderstorms also lead to widespread rain, albeit with varying totals.
A slow-moving storm on Sunday night caused flash flooding in areas in and around Seymour, where local baker to Max Loweke, 63, died after floodwaters swept his van off the road.
In the 24 hours to 9am on Monday, Mr Godfred said Graytown, between Heathcote and Nagambie, had the state’s highest rainfall of 79mm. Brad Costin, a land management extension officer with the DEDJTR, said fences and other farm infrastructure was destroyed and debris strewn across roads, in paddocks and in trees around Seymour.
He said he has spoken with local farmers whose livestock had been swept away and by Tuesday morning, some had been located whereas other farmers were yet to account for the stock that could be wandering around or drowned.
Mr Costin urged flood-affected farmers to check drains around their properties that could be blocked or damaged and monitor dams, particularly if seepage as a result of cracks forming as dry dams filled very quickly, as well as water quality that could be affected by increased nutrients. For example he said blue-green algae could respond to increased nutrients depending on other environmental factors.
Some of the summer weeds encouraged by the rainfall, could cause toxicity issues. Agronomist Dale Boyd, who works with Agriculture Victoria within the DEDJTRm said heliotrope had established at a monitoring site north of Bendigo and such weeds would “certainly grow well” unless controlled.
Mr Godfred said central and south-west Victoria were largely dry and rainfall was very patchy in southern Wimmera. He said scattered rain in Gippsland and adjacent were forecast to clear on Thursday and the forecast for Friday is dry throughout.
