However, it says these rains made little impact on longer-term deficiencies at the 14-month timescale.

These areas received little rainfall relief from the previous year's La Niña event, with large areas of deficiencies through central and southern parts of Australia.

According to the Bureau, tor the 5-month period from March 2008 to July 2008, areas of serious to severe rainfall deficiencies covered much of the southern interior of WA and adjoining areas of north-western SA and the south-western NT; far western Queensland and the Barkly region of the NT; eastern Tasmania; and southern Victoria from Geelong eastwards, extending into the far south-east of NSW.

There were also isolated areas of serious to severe rainfall deficiencies scattered through inland NSW, especially the south, and southern inland Queensland.

In northern Australia this was indicative of an early end to the wet season, whilst southern Australia has generally experienced a poor start to the southern wet season.

Unseasonable winter rains, with widespread falls of 50 to 200 millimetres in the second half of July, have removed short-term rainfall deficiencies through most of eastern Queensland.

Near-normal July rains have also eased the situation in Victoria, especially in the north and west.

Good July rains have also eased or removed rainfall deficiencies around Esperance and Norseman in WA.

Rainfall deficiencies for the 14-month period from June 2007 to July 2008 remain evident over much of SA, including most of the agricultural districts, and the southern NT and also in parts of southern WA, far western parts of both Queensland and NSW, western and central Victoria and northern and eastern Tasmania.

But over the 14-month period, much of eastern Australia had some benefit from above average rainfall associated with the 2007/08 La Niña event.

However, the Bureau says this was mainly over late 2007 to around February 2008, with typically below average rainfall since.

Although Victoria received average to above average falls over summer, the combination of very much below average rainfall since the start of autumn and a dry winter in 2007, has resulted in central and western parts of the state being in decile 1 for the 14-month period.