Flooding rains expected across three Australian states as parched interior receives drenching | Australia weather
Severe weather warnings have been issued in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania, with many states at risk of flash floods on Thursday.
Ilana Cherny, a senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said the wet weather across Australia’s east was being driven by a large trough of low pressure that was pulling “a lot of tropical moisture into the region”.
“A low pressure system is developing in the middle of this trough and will slowly move offshore New South Wales on Friday,” he said.
Heavy rains with the potential to lead to flash flooding were forecast for parts of the mid-north coast of NSW, the Hunter and neighboring areas on Thursday afternoon.
Senior BoM meteorologist Jonathan How said the low pressure system was expected to continue causing heavy rains here on Friday. “We could see severe falls and there is a possibility of flooding,” he said.
It was added that showers would cease from Sydney and the central coast until mid-Friday.
A representative from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union said this came as NRMA roadside assistance workers in Canberra, Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong began a 24-hour strike that was expected to end at midnight over pay and working conditions.
Heavy rainfall is also forecast for parts of southern and south-eastern Queensland, including the Darling Downs Wide Bay and Burnett regions on Thursday.
““It is possible to see severe thunderstorms in the Brisbane region and the southeast coast,” Cherny said, adding that there was a risk of damage from strong winds and large hail.
“We expect severe storm warnings to be issued throughout the day, particularly across parts of southern Queensland and New South Wales,” he said.
Brisbane was hit by severe weather on Wednesday, with access to many roads temporarily cut off due to rain falling from the north. The city recorded 43mm of rain till 8.30am on Thursday.
Significant rainfall totals were also seen in Queensland’s arid southern interior and the Darling Downs. The highest total in the 24 hours to 7am on Thursday was 88mm at Tindarra on the Bungil Creek near Rome in the state’s central west. More rain was expected on Thursday, which was good news for farmers in the area.
Flood warnings have been issued for the St Paul River and the South Esk River in Tasmania. The eastern parts of the state witnessed total rainfall above 100 mm; 251mm of this was recorded at Gray.
Precipitation is expected to ease over the weekend as the low-pressure system moves offshore, but “we could see some dangerous waves forming again along the east coast,” Cherny said.
How said a “broad ridge of high pressure” would maintain “mostly mild and dry conditions across northern Australia” from Friday evening.
The BoM’s latest long-range forecast, published on Thursday afternoon, said late autumn rains in the east and west could ease recent dry conditions in some areas, but rainfall is likely to be below average across much of Australia over the winter.
“Most agricultural regions in the south of the country had an autumn break in early March,” said BoM climatologist David Wilson. “Autumn holiday rainfall has yet to reach several areas, including central Victoria.”
“Many areas experienced the highest temperatures ever recorded in May,” Wilson said. This included Hobart, which recorded the highest temperature of 26.9 degrees on May 1; this was the hottest temperature on the moon since records began in 1882.
The climate crisis is making Australia more vulnerable to natural disasters, including extreme weather and heavy rainfall. For every 1 degree of warming, the atmosphere can hold 7 percent more moisture. Rainfall intensities can be higher than this because raindrops also release energy into the system as they form.
– with AAP
