THE weather systems responsible for the major flooding in New South Wales this week have also given parts of Victoria a potential early start to the cropping season.
Parts of central Victoria extending into the north and north-east have accumulated enough rainfall from this event to mark an autumn break.
There is more rainfall around this week with the highest totals forecast for the east of the state.
A Severe Weather Warning has been issued for damaging winds and heavy rain for parts of southern Victoria on Wednesday and a warning to sheep graziers in parts of Gippsland where cool to mild temperatures, rain and showers and strong winds are expected.
The long-term average date for the autumn break is in early May for parts of central Victoria (typically mid-May in Bendigo) and later for the main cropping region in the north-west.
March rainfall has been tracking below average for parts of the south but with more rain expected this week, most of Victoria is likely to finish the month with average to above average totals.
Western parts of the state could use the rain - root zone soil moisture remains below average for this time of year for much of western Victoria away from the south.
April is likely to be wetter than average for parts of south-eastern Australia, with slightly increased chances compared to normal for much of Victoria.
At the same time, days are likely to be cooler than average in the north while nights are likely to be warmer than average in most parts of the state.
Further ahead, the outlook for Australia shifts from being wet in places in April to being dry in places during May.
For Victoria, the rainfall outlook for May is mostly neutral with no strong push towards a wetter or drier than average month.
The change in the monthly rainfall outlook is due in large part to the expected end of the 2020-21 La Nina.
While La Nina's wet influence is likely to linger into April, climate models expect the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the tropical Pacific will return to neutral (neither La Nina nor El Nino) during autumn and remain neutral over winter.
As of March 23, water storage levels in the Murray-Darling Basin were 52.0 per cent full, up 19.5pc over the past 12 months.
Water storage levels in the South East Coast (Victoria) drainage division were 40.6pc full, 6.4pc higher than the same time last year.