Flooding and heavy falls for northern Queensland, risk increasing inland

Australian Community Media

Flood watch areas for areas of northern and inland Queensland, with some areas registering over 300mm in less than a day.

Transcript

00:00It's been another wet 24 hours for parts of northeastern Queensland, with over 300

00:06mm recorded at Hamilton Island up until 9 o'clock this morning, and well over 200 mm

00:12for parts of the Cassowary Coast.

00:14Significant flooding is ongoing and remains our primary concern today and over the coming

00:19days.

00:20A number of flood warnings are still in place between Cairns and down as far south as St

00:24Lawrence or so.

00:26For the most part, flooding is in an easing phase, but we may still see some localised

00:30renewed rises across inland parts, particularly where severe thunderstorms bring some heavy

00:35falls on a local scale.

00:38A major flood warning remains in place for the Herbert River catchment, with minor to

00:43moderate flooding elsewhere.

00:44Most notably, moderate flood warnings are in place for the Ross River catchment and

00:48the Lower Burdekin.

00:50We also have extensive flood watch areas now current for northern inland and central parts

00:56of Queensland.

00:58These flood watch areas are flagging the developing risk of rainfall and flooding across these

01:03parts over the coming days.

01:05Now our thresholds for flooding are much lower across these drier inland areas compared to

01:10the wet coastal parts, which means we need far less rain in the gauges to see significant

01:15flooding impacts developing.

01:17Such impacts include roads being cut or reduced to four wheel drive access only as water moves

01:22over those roads, and at worst we may even see some townships isolated as those roads

01:27become affected.

01:30Now rainfall building through those inland areas is largely going to be driven by areas

01:34of low pressure.

01:35A low pressure trough and at times the monsoon trough moving over parts of northern Queensland.

01:41These areas of low pressure are dragging in significant moisture from the tropics and

01:45feeding it into any showers and storms that develop.

01:49And we certainly are expecting widespread showers and thunderstorms across much of northern

01:54and central Queensland over the coming days, pushing into early next week as well.

02:00At times we may see rain areas and severe thunderstorms developing which could bring

02:04some locally heavier falls, particularly about parts of the north tropical coast.

02:09Now our highest rainfall totals are most likely about that southern side of the low pressure

02:15trough areas.

02:16We can see that reflected in our rainfall totals out to the end of Saturday.

02:21They really build quite quickly across that southern side of the low pressure trough including

02:26the coast between Cairns and Mackay, particularly in that Friday to Sunday period, but also

02:31pushing inland to touch parts of the northern goldfields and upper flinders, the central

02:36highlands and coalfields, and the central west districts as well.

02:39Of course the exact locations for the highest falls will depend on those areas of low pressure.

02:45Where they sit and how strong they are at any given times.

02:49Severe thunderstorms across these areas over the coming days may also enhance rainfall

02:55totals on a local scale and could lead to flash flooding in some parts.

02:59It's essential for communities right across northern Queensland to be aware of this building

03:03risk over the coming days, particularly those in the new flood watch areas inland.

03:09It's also worth noting that we may see our flood watch areas further extended to the

03:13west, pushing into eastern parts of the Northern Territory if that flood and rain risk starts

03:19to move outside of Queensland.

03:22As this risk continues to unfold over the coming days, it's essential to stay up to

03:26date with the latest forecasts and warnings via the Bureau's website and our BOM Weather

03:31app.

03:32You can also find updates via our social media.

03:35Stay safe and we'll catch you in the next update.

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