Batten down the hatches Ballarat – up to 25mm of rain is forecast to hit the city overnight Thursday into Friday, ending May’s dry spell.
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The Bureau of Meteorology expects the biggest falls will be in the Wimmera and northern country, but Ballarat is still expected to cop a drenching.
BOM senior forecaster Michael Efron said heavy rain would start falling on Thursday evening in the city.
“Overnight Thursday into Friday, you could say Ballarat is looking at around 15 to 25mm for the region,” he said.
"So it looks like the heaviest rain will be to the north, but it’s still useful.
“It will rain much for the day on Friday but will clear overnight Friday into Saturday.”
Some parts of northwestern Victoria are expecting 50mm of rain.
Rainfall levels in May have been well below average for Ballarat, with only 5.4mm recorded – down from the monthly usual of 64mm.
The BOM had previously predicted autumn to be drier than average for Ballarat.
It said: “Drier than average outlooks are likely a result of forecast higher than normal pressure across western and southern Australia, meaning fewer rain-bearing systems are likely”.
Ballarat has not seen big falls upwards of 20mm since April 25, when 25mm of rain was registered in the gauge at the airport.
