Australia's 2011 weather wetter and cooler than normal

The Bureau of Meteorology released its annual climate statement on Wednesday, declaring that Australia's weather in 2011 was wetter and cooler than normal.

It was the third wettest year since records began in 1900, with a total mean rainfall of 699mm - 234mm above the long-term average of 465mm - while March was the wettest month ever recorded.

Most parts of the country had above average rain, apart from patches in southwest Western Australia, western Tasmania, and pockets of NSW and Queensland.

The mean temperature was 21.67C - the first time since 2001 it's dipped below the average.

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