MUCH of Western Australia's South West Land Division has been suffering from a severe lack of rain this year and now the heat is adding to the stress.
It's been two and a half months since Dalwallinu and Bencubbin in the Central Wheat Belt have had a day which brought more than a millimetre of rain.
In this period Dalwallinu also had 46 days without recording any rain. It had its driest October in 99 years of records, gaining only 0.4 of a millimetre. With only 250mm for the year so far, it's still more than 100mm short of the annual average of 356mm.
The outlook is grim, especially given that we're heading into the driest time of the year.
By the end of this week Dalwallinu will have also achieved its quota of 35-degree days for November as hot, gusty easterly winds crank up again. There's no sign of rain for at least a week, and this might be too late for many drought-stricken grain farmers.
Nearer the west coast, it's also been dry and it's getting hot again as southerlies turn easterly.
After a recent cool week and a half, Perth is heating up again.
It could be the first time in 32 years that Perth hits 35 degrees on three consecutive November days.
