April has delivered warm and dry conditions for Wagga and - in good news for racegoers - this trend is set to continue for this week's Gold Cup Carnival and beyond.
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Maximum temperatures this month have been slightly above average, sitting at 22.9 degrees, making it the second warmest April in the past five years.
Even our cooler days have been warm in comparison to years gone by, with the city's coolest maximum temperature recorded this month of 19.1 degrees being the highest since 2021.
Though if you think it has been cool at night you wouldn't be wrong, with this month's minimum average temperatures sitting at 7.8 degrees, the coolest it's been for April since 2021.
Wagga is set to record its driest April since 2021.
Just 29 millimetres fell during April, 10 millimetres less then the monthly average, while almost three quarters of April's total rain fell in just one day with 21 millimetres recorded on April 6.
It has also been the driest start to a calendar year since 2021, with only 150 millimetres recorded at the Wagga weather station since January 1.
What about the Gold Cup?
Wagga Gold Cup Day on Friday is expected to be slightly cooler than average, with a top of 21 degrees forecast and some cloud coverage expected during the day.
If it reaches that expected maximum, it will be the warmest Cup Day since 2021, and the second warmest in the last five years.
A spokesperson from the Bureau of Meteorology said while some parts of the state could see showers this weekend, they were set to miss the Riverina.
"Generally dry weather conditions are expected, with slightly chilly mornings for Wagga and the Riverina this week," the spokesperson said.
"Deep easterly winds, combined with an upper level disturbances, may bring widespread rainfall in the state's north.
"They are not expected to affect the Riverina and southern inland of NSW in general, with just some cloudy conditions and the minor chance of showers on Saturday."
Looking ahead
Those hoping for a change of conditions during May across the Riverina will be disappointed.
The Bureau of Meteorology's climate outlook for May, released last week, said "rainfall was likely to be below median for parts of southern and eastern Australia, with an increased likelihood of unusually-low rainfall for parts of southern and eastern Australia".
This means more warm and dry days across the nation next month.
For the Riverina, the chance of temperatures exceeding the median temperature for the month sits between 70 and 75 per cent.
This percentage is a touch lower than most parts of the country, but it means we are more likely to see this warm weather continue for the rest of autumn.
Looking at rainfall, the chance of the region seeing any significant falls is very low.
There is a 30 to 35 per cent chance of rainfall exceeding median levels across the Riverina, with some parts closer to the border seeing even lower percentages.
Temperatures are even more likely to exceed median monthly temperatures during winter, while the chance of rainfall across NSW increases to be closer to 55 per cent during the winter months.
However that trend doesn't include the Riverina, with the chance of rainfall going above the median remaining closer to 30 per cent.