LITHGOW has just recorded its worst year of rainfall on record, with farmers, gardeners and residents struggling through the dry times.
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In 2019, just 466.2 millimetres of rainfall was recorded by the Bureau of Meteorology which is far less than the long-term mean for Lithgow of 780.5mm.
The year, however, did start off on a promising note when 109.2mm of rain was recorded in January, which was above the monthly average of 84.1mm.
March was also wetter than average in Lithgow, with 108.4mm of rain compared to the month's average of 74.9mm.
But, it all dried up after that with every other month recording well below average rain.
December was the driest month with just 1.1mm recorded.
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While Lithgow recorded many above average temperature days during the year, no records were broken.
The hottest day in 2019 was on January 17 when the mercury soared to 36.1 degrees, and while this was hot, it was still a long way off Lithgow's hottest day on record.
This occurred on February 11, 2017 when the temperature reached a top of 39.3 degrees.
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The coldest day in 2019 was on August 14 when residents shivered through a low of -6.7 degrees.
While it was bone-chillingly cold it was a little off Lithgow's coldest ever day which was recorded on May 30, 2016 when the mercury dropped to -7.7 degrees.
Weatherzone meteorologist Craig McIntosh said while 20-40mm of rain could fall in Lithgow from Sunday to Tuesday, real reprieve from the dry times was not in sight.
"The climate drivers that do bring dry weather are breaking down," he said.
"The chance of rain increases towards the end of January, and then the climate drivers show it should stay about average through until May."
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