On a Sunday when exceptionally heavy rainfall totals for summer – or indeed for any month – were recorded in some inland areas of South Australia and other parts of southeastern Australia, Adelaide once again frustratingly missed out.

Last week, a rainband slipped just south of the city. On Sunday, the heaviest rain fell north and east of the city. No rain was recorded in the Adelaide CBD, while only very light totals were recorded in some suburbs, with slightly higher readings up in the Adelaide Hills.

But the forecast models paint an optimistic picture, with potentially heavy rain on the cards for the parched SA capital later this week and into the weekend as a most airmass with tropical origins pushes south. Be sure to keep checking the Adelaide forecast as this system approaches.

An unseasonably wet Sunday across the southeast inland

Here’s the state by state breakdown of what was a very wet Sunday for summer in many inland areas:

South Australia

South Australia’s North East Pastoral forecast district is one of the driest regions in the country, with less than 200mm of average annual rainfall at many locations.

But in the 24 hours to 9am, three weather stations near the small town of Leigh Creek topped 50mm of rainfall, with a highest official reading of 66.4mm at Blinman, about 500km north of Adelaide.

Significant falls were also recorded in the Murraylands, with Swan Reach (Ponderosa) receiving 26.4mm. The fruit-growing centre of Renmark had 13.6mm, which doesn’t sound like much, but it was the town’s first day this summer with more than a millimetre of rain.

Image: Predicted South Australian rainfall accumulation up until Sunday, March 1, 2026, according to the ECMWF model.

Victoria

Significant falls were recorded across most of Victoria as the rainband associated with a trough of low pressure slid across the southeast of the continent.

The falls were particularly heavy in the North East forecast district, where Mt Buller in the high country received 115.6mmm. Four weather stations near the Murray River topped 100mm, including Wodonga with 103mm. Flash flooding was reported in the border city.

Melbourne received a handy 10.8mm, but its overall 2025/26 summer rainfall total is still much less than half the running average. Potentially much heavier falls could arrive as soon as tomorrow (Tuesday). 

New South Wales/ACT

The heaviest 24-hour totals to 9am Monday were in the Snowy Mountains, where Thredbo received 111.6mm. Rain and storms delivered totals around 20mm to some South Coast locations.

The rain barely wet the gauge at Observatory Hill on the fringe of the Sydney CBD, with 0.2mm recorded. However a late afternoon storm delivered as much as 20mm to some southern suburbs.

Canberra received a handy 6.6mm which brought its running monthly rainfall total to 45.2mm (February average 62.1mm). But the national capital still faces the prospect of its fifth consecutive month of below-average rainfall.

Tasmania

Virtually the whole state saw at least some rain on Sunday into Monday, with by far the heaviest falls in the west as tends to happen with systems like this that approach from the northwest.

The highest official reading was 60.2mm at Margaret Lake Dam in the Western forecast district, while Hobart recorded 2.4mm. To date, Hobart’s rainfall is tracking at about half the seasonal average across the 2025/26 summer.