Above average rainfall in June helped to ease dry conditions in parts of South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria’s north-western and Gippsland regions, according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s latest national drought statement.

Gippsland's rainfall was generally in the highest 10 percent of records, with most of the rain falling in just two events.

Other parts of the country to include above-average totals in June included areas of Top End and the northern half of Western Australia.

Northern Tasmania and Western Australia south of Shark Bay received June rainfall in the lowest 10pc of records, with large areas of the Southwest Land Division recording their lowest June total on record.

It is the dry season across northern Australia but many areas continued to receive below average rainfall for the period, with western and Gulf Country Queensland experiencing worsening rainfall deficiencies in June.

Longer-term rainfall deficiencies for the 15 month period from April 2012 to June 2013 have seen a dramatic improvement in central and eastern South Australia and inland New South Wales.

Most of these areas have been elevated above the 10th percentile for the 15-month period, with rainfall percentages maps showing that much of this area has received more than 60pc of the long-term average rainfall.

Deficiencies have also been improved somewhat across northern and western Victoria and adjacent parts of southeast South Australia, the Riverina and southwest New South Wales.

Weekly soil moisture totals in the upper soil layer continued to be very much below average across the Cape York Peninsula and parts of inland Queensland, as well as in a small area of the Great Dividing Range in east-central Victoria.

Upper layer soil moisture is approaching lowest on record for this time of the year across most of Tasmania, along the west coast of Western Australia and inland from the Great Australian Bight.
The effect of recent rainfall can be seen in elevated soil moisture levels through inland New South Wales, northwestern Victoria, much of South Australia and along the Victorian coast in Gippsland and west of Port Phillip Bay.

For the deeper layer, soil moisture has seen some change, compared to last month, following recent rainfall, but is still very much below average for the majority of Victoria (except in the east), part of southeastern New South Wales, the eastern half of Tasmania, Western Australia between Shark Bay, Perth and Kalgoorlie-Boulder, and parts of the far north. Elevated soil moisture in the northwest is a result of frequent northwest cloudbands bringing good falls to that part of the country in recent months.

Click image below to view latest national rainfall deficiency map