This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

While many in eastern Australia woke to rain on Friday, the wet weather will not be enough to bring significant relief to farmers affected by the drought in New South Wales and Queensland, the Bureau of Meteorology has said.

But farmers are still hopeful forecast rain will start to make a dent in what has been described as the area’s worst drought in 50 years.

The bureau said on Friday moderate rainfall was forecast for south-east Queensland and large swathes of New South Wales, including some thunderstorms.

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“With this particular event, in terms of the impact of the drought, this really isn’t going to make a big difference. Those long-term deficiencies are so significant,” Ann Farrell, a bureau meteorologist, said on Friday.

“The rain may be useful for some purposes but for the different producers it’s going to depend on exactly what they’re doing with their crops and livestock, as to what value there may be.”

The rainfall is forecast to be focused on the north-west slopes and plains and the central west areas.

Farrell said the strongest rainfall could be expected around the New South Wales towns of Tamworth and Moree, which have been hit hard by the drought.

“The state really hasn’t seen much rain with the drought conditions we’ve had,” she said.

“There’s a lot of rainfall deficiencies in places like Tamworth hasn’t seen 25mm in a day since October last year. Tamworth can certainly expect that with this event.”

Rainfall would be weaker heading west to Orange, and south to Goulburn, the bureau has forecast. “Drought-relieving rain is certainly not on the cards for those areas,” Farrell said.

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The rainfall is predicted to move into Queensland and New South Wales on Friday afternoon, before moving into the northern inland of New South Wales on Saturday. Clearing showers are expected on Sunday as the system heads east.

The bureau’s forecast on Friday came as a blow to farmers’ hopes after earlier forecasts had suggested the forthcoming rain was set to bring relief.

Farrell said the bureau was monitoring another trough system that could hit drought-affected areas in about a week, but she added that it was too early to say how strong the rainfall would be.

Sonia O’Keefe, who runs a beef cattle farm in Walcha on the Northern Tablelands, was hopeful the rain expected at the weekend would be the start of something more.

“The forecast is that we have an 80% chance from 3-30mm of rain,” she told Guardian Australia. “If it’s the 30mm and we have follow up rain, it will be the start.”

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“My partner and I were having a discussion today and we were saying the ground is just so incredibly dry at the moment that if we were to get 100mm every month for the next 10 months it wouldn’t make a difference.

“It would ... give a bit of a green flush. But that’s not enough to grow feed, it’s certainly nowhere near drought-breaking rain.”

O’Keefe said her area had received 280mm of rain for the calendar year, compared to an average rainfall was 800mm.

“There is no moisture in the soil. To get soil wet again takes a hell of a lot of rain.”