It's amazing what difference a little rain can make.
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Things were looking pretty grim in the Gloucester region at the end of 2019 with very little rain and scorching hot temperatures.
When it would try to rain it was quite sporadic falling only in some locations if any fell at all. Weekend after weekend, the weather report claimed rain but rarely delivered.
As the weeks wore on and the rivers flatlined, so did the optimism of the community.
Although everyone knew at some point rain would fall, it seemed like it was never going to happen. No one in living memory could remember a time when the Gloucester valley was so dry.
Farmers who had made the decision to keep their cattle, hoping the rain would come sooner, were starting to lose hope and the cost of bringing in feed and water was overwhelming.
At the end of January, as a cyclone began to build off the coast of Darwin and the weather system that was causing the extreme dry began to weaken, the rain finally started to fall. Once again, it fell in some places and not everywhere, but after the heavy rain at the start of February, everyone started to feel the love.
The Gloucester Advocate put out a call for before and after drought photos, and here are a few.