HIGH tides and plenty of rain have combined to cut off some of the footpaths and bridges at Fawthrop lagoon, as winter get off to a cold and wet start.

The high water level is not unheard of, and shouldn’t last too long as the tide height falls away over the next week, following a maximum height on Thursday of 1.3m.

Cape Bridgewater’s new rock wall had it’s first real test on Wednesday, with the high tides and a big swell bringing the water all the way up to crash against the rocks and submerge the new stairs.

Tuesday, May 31, was the last day of Spring and the coldest of the year so far, with the Bureau Of Meteorology (BOM) weather station at Portland Airport only just cracking double figures to reach a maximum temperature of 10.4C.

The 11.4mm of rain also makes Tuesday the fifth wettest day of the year in Portland.

Nationally, Australia has experienced the wettest Autumn in a decade, the BOM says it is the first time since 2012 that there has been a higher than average rainfall for the season, but that is not the case for the South West, which had to have the fire restrictions extended due to dryness.