RAIN poured from dark clouds during a wet and wild weekend for the Tamworth region, and it landed in the right place for Tamworth water users.
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The Chaffey Dam catchment got a soaking during a four-day rain event, causing the water supply to rise rapidly.
The Peel River has been gushing into the dam, after heavy rain at the river's head, near Nundle.
Chaffey Dam was sitting at about 26 per cent on Friday, and had risen to more than 29.95 per cent by Monday morning, according to data from Water NSW.
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That kind of increase means close to 4,000 ML of water - or 1,600 Olympic swimming pools' worth - flowed into the dam during the wet weather.
Only 4ML of the precious resource was released from Tamworth's main water supply on Sunday, according to Water NSW data.
Tamworth Regional Council's drought management plan indicates the trigger point for relaxing water restrictions to Level 3 is when Chaffey Dam hits 30 per cent full.
As strong inflows continue, that milestone could be hit on Monday.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) weather station at the head of the Peel River recorded almost 150mm of rain over Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
More than 60mm of rain was dumped in the area in the 24 hours leading up to 9am on Monday morning, according to the BoM.
That's the biggest daily fall for the head of the Peel all year.
Tamworth didn't miss out on the rain either, with the city recording an official total of 46.4mm of rain during the event.
Backyard gauges told a different story to the BoM's weather station at Tamworth airport though.
East Tamworth residents said they recorded up to 90mm of rain at their places, and there was reportedly more than 60mm of the wet stuff notched at Moore Creek residences between Thursday and Monday.
The stormy weather covered much of the region, and the BoM gauge at Gunnedah airport clocked more than 87mm of rain, since Thursday.
The BoM has forecast another potentially stormy afternoon for Tamworth today, with a brief reprieve on Tuesday predicted before the wet stuff could return on Wednesday.
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Police and crime reporter at the Newcastle Herald. Email: afalkenmire@austcommunitymedia.com.au
