During the period October 1996 to January 2000 parts of southern and eastern Victoria, the southern Eyre Peninsula of South Australia, the central highlands of Queensland and central and north-eastern parts of Tasmania experienced serious to severe rainfall deficiencies. In some of these regions the rainfall was the lowest on record.

Rainfall deficiencies east of Melbourne for the ten months between April 1999 and January 2000 were severe. Deficiencies around Cape Otway and around Portland in western Victoria were also serious, with January totals being approximately 60 per cent of the average. Below average to average rainfall totals made little change to the deficiencies near Emerald in central Queensland, in the south-east of Tasmania around Hobart and in the north-west, south of Burnie.

Average to above average rainfall in January removed the existing rainfall deficiencies near Ceduna in South Australia.