‘Wettest month since 2024’: Towns drenched in autumn blast

A BITTER autumn blast has swept across the Riverina, drenching the region with much-needed rain and sending temperatures plunging.

Widespread falls of 30mm to 50mm were recorded across parts of the district as a strong cold front and south-westerly change pushed across New South Wales, dragging cold air, showers and gusty winds in behind it.

Junee picked up 51.5mm in the 42 hours to 12pm Friday, while 32.4mm was recorded at Wagga Airport.

The Bureau of Meteorology says the drenching has taken Wagga’s March rainfall total to 86.2mm, eclipsing the city’s combined five-month total from October 2025 to February 2026 of 82.8mm and making this its wettest month since November 2024.

After months of patchy and often disappointing falls, the soaking has been widely welcomed across the district.

But the change brought more than just rain.

It also delivered a sharp temperature plunge, with the mercury struggling to recover across the Riverina on Friday as strong south-westerly winds added a raw wind chill to the day.

The cold outbreak produced one of the clearest signs yet that summer is over, with snow falling in parts of New South Wales for the first time in 2026.

The Bureau’s alpine forecast showed rain and windy conditions with a top of just six degrees in Kosciuszko National Park on Friday, while the ABC reported snow had fallen across parts of the NSW Alps and Central Tablelands.