Rain over Goulburn and district keeps SES busy and farmers happy

A total 14.6mm fell at Goulburn airport between 12.50pm and 1.30pm.

Goulburn SES deputy unit controller, Steve Watson said crews responded to 13 call-outs on Wednesday. The majority of these were leaking roofs, water inundation and requests for sandbags.

However they also attended to a large tree that fell in a Buffalo Crescent backyard. No one was injured.

"We received calls for help straight after the storm," Mr Watson said.

He said water was still draining away and river levels were not a concern.

Rain is expected to taper off on Wednesday afternoon.

Earlier, 1136 people in a large area around Marulan briefly lost power from 1.15pm.

An Essential Energy spokeswoman said a lightning strike caused the outage but power was restored remotely by 1.36pm.

Sowerby Street at South Goulburn has been re-opened following an earlier deluge.

A torrential downpour has dumped 13.6mm over Goulburn in just 10 minutes.

The Bureau of Meteorology has recorded 14.8mm at Goulburn airport since 9am Wednesday. A total 13.6mm fell between 12.50pm and 1pm.

The storm has resulted in water over the road in Sowerby Street, South Goulburn, a major entry to the service centre. Live Traffic advises the road is closed in both directions and asks people to avoid the area.

A deluge over Goulburn has not resulted in any major flooding but has put a smile on farmers' faces.

Goulburn Airport recorded 98mm in the 24 hours to 9am, while the city's TAFE weather station registered 64mm. A south Goulburn resident recorded 72mm in his gauge.

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SES crews respond to call-outs as rain sweeps over area

Heavy rain expected to fall over Southern Tablelands

Outlying areas received much more, with reports of 110mm at Gundary, 140mm at the Hillview weather station on the Shoalhaven River near Oallen and 114mm at Mount Rae, between Crookwell and Taralga.

Goulburn SES deputy controller, Steve Watson, said while there was still a great deal of water to come down the Wollondilly and Mulwaree Rivers, it was so far getting away rather than flooding.

Only one road in the region, the Blackshaw Road rail underpass in Goulburn, is closed in both directions.

"The rain has formed up on the coastal side of Goulburn so if that remains the case, the Wollondilly River will stay fairly low and the water will get away," he said.

Eastgrove and the Goulburn Golf Club, which traditionally flood during heavy rain, are not showing pooling.

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Mr Watson said absorption was higher due to drier conditions but more rain on Wednesday could result in minor flooding.

"If we'd received 98mm this time last year, we'd be evacuating people. It's a big difference to this year," he said.

Rainfall was lower than expected on Tuesday night, with almost 22mm falling at Goulburn airport from midnight to 9am Wednesday.

Nevertheless, SES crews were kept busy up until midnight Tuesday with 24 call-outs. Most of these were to leaking roofs, water inundation to houses and delivering sandbags.

At South Goulburn McDonalds, SES volunteers secured a roof that was threatening to collapse.

Two storm teams, a flood rescue crew on standby and an incident management team, comprising 14 personnel worked until midnight.

Mr Watson said there were no flood rescues and thanked the community for its cooperation.

The SES southeastern zone, encompassing a broad area stretching to the Victorian border, has set up an incident control centre at the service's Knox Street, Goulburn headquarters.

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Other rainfall totals around the district were: Crookwell - 35mm; Myrtleville (near Taralga) - 25mm; Murrays Flat - 56mm; Sooley Dam - 21mm; Pomeroy - 31mm; Pejar - 49mm; and Nerriga - 106mm.

Mr Watson said the Wollondilly River at Pomeroy and Marsden Weir was starting to rise, as was the Mulwaree River at Inveralochy. The Mulwaree Ponds at Lansdowne Bridge is holding steady.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for heavy rainfall across the Southern Tablelands on Wednesday.

Goulburn is on the edge of the area affected. Rain tapered off on Wednesday morning but the Bureau has forecast a 75 per cent chance of more rain at 2pm.

Meantime, graziers are rejoicing. Cheryl and Bill Fife received 75mm at their Quialigo cattle property, 21km southeast of Goulburn.

"It's very welcome because the water levels in the dams were getting quite desperate," Mrs Fife said.

At Gundary, where they previously lived, Mrs Fife noted that a dam was full.

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Katrina and Andrew Nixon recorded 41mm across Tuesday and Wednesday at their Roslyn cattle property, Merryvale, 41km northwest of Goulburn.

"The only other rain we had was in October with 30mm. All of the storms have missed us so we didn't make silage," Mrs Nixon said.

"The grass was thinning out quickly but I think tomorrow we'll see a tinge of green because the temperature is still good for growth."

Dams were at reasonably healthy levels due to last year's rain but she expected them to fill in coming days.

So far this year, Merryvale has recorded 387mm, well down on last year's total of 2182mm.

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