Gunnedah, Tamworth hit by heavy rainfall, swelling rivers and waterfalls and bringing joy to farmers

Heavy rainfall around the towns of Gunnedah and Tamworth is swelling rivers and waterfalls and delighting farmers celebrating an “unbelievable” end to a drought many of them thought would never be over.

Tamworth has recorded its second-wettest December since 1947, with the 2020 total of 223.6 millimetres just 1.3mm shy of the 73-year-old record.

Gunnedah has seen a decade-long rainfall record tumble for the month of December with 228.8mm recorded at the town’s airport, well surpassing the 2010 total of 195mm. That’s after recording just 1mm last December.

“For towns like Gunnedah and Tamworth that … is over two and a half times their typical December rainfall,” Bureau of Meteorology senior climatologist Simon Grainger said.