THE ground is dry, the crops are thirsty and some water tanks are on their last few litres.

Coming out of its driest month in nine years this September, it's no surprise Warwick is feeling thirsty for some rain.

Bony Mountain farmer Gary Cooper said while it wasn't the be all and end all, if the clouds didn't open up soon, there would be some disappointed farmers around the region.

"It hasn't deteriorated too badly yet, but if we don't get some rain in two or three weeks, our winter crops will almost fail," Mr Cooper said.

The dry season means Mr Cooper has had to delay the planting of summer crops until there is enough moisture to get the ball rolling.

Being a Queenslander, his 420ha property has seen its fair share of drought.

"The drought was the hardest back in 1992-96 and then again in 2001-06," Mr Cooper said.

"You just learn to live with drought."

While he remained optimistic, he said anyone banking on a solid winter crop would be praying for a downpour in the next few days.

The Weather Channel forecaster Fellim Hanniffy said Warwick recorded a grand total of 14.2mm during September, well below the long-term average of 37mm.

And if you thought the last few weeks were cooler than usual for the start of spring you weren't imagining things.

Warwick average overnight minimums for September were the coolest on record for no less than 18 years.

Mr Hanniffy said the cooler nights were the result of "persistent" high pressure systems and clear skies, with an average minimum of 5.4 degrees compared to a long-term average of seven.

But he also said this week would bring a marked contrast, with daytime temperatures tipped to run close to 30 degrees later in the week.

"We have a frontal system approaching from New South Wales and Friday and Saturday should be the warmest days," he said.

"There may be a little bit of rain about coastal areas but not much inland," he said.

"Combined with a gusty northerly airstream a very high fire danger will continue for the Downs."

Daytime maximums for Warwick for September were about two degrees above the long-term average of 23.

This week's temperatures

Today: 6-23 degrees

Tomorrow: 4-24 degrees

Thursday: 5-27 degrees

Friday: 8-28 degrees

Saturday: 11-29 degrees

Sunday: 10-26 degrees

Courtesy of weatherzone.com.au

Conserving water should still be our main priority

WE'VE heard it all before, memorised the jingles and even installed the shower heads, but some people have forgotten the importance of conserving water since the ads disappeared from our television screens. Here are a few tips from thinkwater.act.gov.au to remind you how to save water in your home:

In the bathroom: Turn off the tap when you brush your teeth. If you brush your teeth twice a day, for two minutes each time, and leave the tap running, you could be wasting around 12 litres of water a day. That's more than 4300 litres per person, per year. Plus, you don't need 20-minute showers - keep them to four minutes.

In the laundry: Reduce the number of washing loads in a week and save water by combining smaller loads and only washing when you have a full load.

In the kitchen: Use your dishwasher only when you have a full load and use the economy cycle. Each time you use the dishwasher, you could be using between 18 and 40 litres of water.