Queensland's 450mm Downpour Sets Stage for Severe Eastern Storms
Bureau of Meteorologist David Crock says the wet week is far more typical of summer than October, as a cold front now targets Sydney and Melbourne.
By Arjun Wojcik ·
Rainfall totals of 450mm have been recorded in parts of the Sunshine Coast hinterlands and Caboolture, a figure that dwarfs the local average for the month.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has issued severe thunderstorm and flash flood warnings for South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania. Nine separate flood warnings remain active for southern Queensland. Senior meteorologist David Crock stated that the region has experienced a 'really wet week,' with persistent moisture drawing in totals over a seven to ten day period.
The BoM forecasts that a cold front will cross New South Wales on Sunday. This system is expected to bring severe thunderstorms to western New South Wales, north-eastern Victoria, Sydney, and Brisbane. Crock noted that the threat of severe storms will extend across a wide band of inland eastern Australia, including Melbourne's eastern suburbs and central South Australia.
Rainfall in several Queensland areas has reached more than double the average October total in just a few days. Crock described the conditions as much more typical of January or February than the current October forecast. He indicated that heavy rain and showers are expected across much of Queensland, with specific severe thunderstorm warnings for Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg, the Sunshine Coast hinterlands, and Roma.
The heaviest rainfall occurred on Thursday, when torrential rain stretched from Caboolture south to the Border Ranges. Some locations in this corridor recorded well over 200mm of rain in a single day. The intensity of the downpour triggered flash flooding, water rescues, and hundreds of emergency calls to the State Emergency Service.
The Queensland fire department conducted more than 16 swift-water rescues during the event. In one incident at Caboolture, crews used a raft to reach an elderly man who was clinging to the roof of his vehicle. Several schools in the affected areas were forced to close on Friday.
Heavy rain is expected to develop in Tasmania overnight into Sunday morning. The current forecast suggests that the wet weather will continue to impact most Australian states through the weekend.
Source: The Guardian
