HARD, soaking rains pummelled the Queanbeyan region over the weekend, but it's a case of enjoy it while it lasts with a scorching, dry Christmas and New Year period to follow.
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The Queanbeyan region received between 40 and 50mm on Saturday as a strong storm cell loitered over the south east of the state, however the coming weeks are set to be much hotter and drier according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Senior meteorologist at the Bureau, Sean Carson, said the number of consecutive storm days leading up to Saturday was unprecedented for December.
"The last week has obviously been very stormy, and we saw seven days of storms consecutively in the region. Queanbeyan didn't get one every day although they came very close.
"Going back through the record books, you don't normally get more than five consecutive storm days at the most, so seven is pretty impressive.
"Slow moving systems, high humidity and very warm temperatures were the cause. We had some moisture coming down from the tropics."
The rain has pushed Queanbeyan over the December rainfall average of 54mm, currently sitting in the mid-seventies, however Mr Carson warned there was not much more to come over summer.
"We had a very dry Spring where we only saw two thirds of our normal rainfall.
"So it's nice to get a top up this month, however the outlook for January and February is strongly in favour of below average rainfall and above average temperatures.
"It's good to get this relief now, because it doesn't look like it's going to last," he said.
The recent wet weather also kept Queanbeyan emergency services busy over the weekend with the SES attending a number of call-outs over the two days.
SES operations officer Brent Hunter said the SES attended six local residences with leaking roofs on Saturday, and cleared a downed tree from another residence on Sunday.
The Queanbeyan branch has also sent a team to Sydney's Hornsby branch this week to assist with storm repairs.
