Red cherry tomatoes hang from Su Tran's plentiful crop in Carnarvon, but a closer inspection reveals the devastating detail.
Key points:
- This week, Carnarvon recorded more than its monthly rainfall average in just one day
- A local tomato grower has lost almost half of this season's crop
- The Gascoyne received three times more than its usual rainfall for autumn
Unseasonal rain has caused many of Mr Tran's ripe fruits to split, and rather than being picked and packed for Perth and beyond they will be going in the bin.
"My tomatoes, they have watermark or something like that. Tomatoes don't like rain," he said.
Carnarvon grower Jamie Moore's property is a muddy sight, with flooding between each of his capsicum rows.
Mr Moore said he and his workers have had to down tools until the ground dries again, which could be over a week away.
"It sucks because we can't get our capsicums off the bushes. We can't get up and down the rows. Unless we can put hubs on the workers," he said with a hopeful glint in his eyes.
It is a precarious time for Mr Moore as ripening capsicum is also susceptible to splitting and diseases brought on by unseasonal rain events.
"It's very annoying for us growers. It's good for the stations. I could send it that way if I had a big fan," he said.
Back in March, rockmelon grower Joe Poentes and his family hurriedly collected ripe fruit before they were also hit with unseasonal rain.
"It could cause rockmelons a lot of damage as they rot after the rain," he said.
"I have to pick as much as I can, as quickly as I can."
More heavy, unseasonal rain
This week a low pressure system off the WA coast brought over 60 millimetres of rain to Carnarvon in a single day, more than its entire monthly rainfall average.
It follows the wettest autumn in 22 years for the Gascoyne, where 218mm was recorded at Carnarvon Airport.
That is over three times the average rainfall for the season.
Melons were the latest fruits to be affected by the unseasonal rain with rotting rockmelons, honey dew, and watermelons lining paddocks of the state's winter food bowl.
The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts more rain on the way, with another 60mm expected to fall in coming days.
"The actual line is just to the north of Carnarvon, so there could be more falls through that north-western Gascoyne … so you couldn't rule out up to 60-70mm again," said the BOM's Luke Huntington.
"There is [also] a risk of those thunderstorms reaching severe criteria."