So far this month, Forbes has recorded just 1.4mm of rain, well below the long-term average of 55.6mm according to Weatherzone.

We’ve had 0.2mm of rain on June 4, 12 and 18 and 0.8mm of rain on June 10.

It’s our driest June in 20 years according to the Bureau of Meterology, even in the desperately dry 2002 and 2003 June provided some relief with 11.6mm and 18.2mm of rain respectively.

However across the longer term, this year’s rainfall figures are much healthier. 

Forbes airport has recorded 273mm of rain, above the average rainfall for the first half of the year of 244.7mm.

That’s mostly due to a very wet March, we had 191.4mm of rain then after a very dry start to the year (just 0.2mm in the airport gauge in February. Forbes also recorded 48.4mm in May.

At this time last year we were being drenched: June 2016 recorded 117.4mm and we’d had a total 315mm for the year so far. 

Farmers with winter crops in are looking to the sky, but the forecast doesn’t hold any real promise of rain for the rest of the month or early July.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s rainfall outlook for June to August indicates drier than normal conditions are likely across most of NSW, with daytime temperatures warmer than normal.

This outlook is influenced by warmer than average tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures and a cooler eastern Indian Ocean.