Unseasonal rain begins in northern Australia
12Jun00 |
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| Sub-zero temperatures again covered large areas of SE Qld and eastern NSW (top) this morning, with northern parts of the area 6 to 10 below normal (above). Cloud cover kept temperatures today well below average (below). |
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Unseasonally heavy rain began falling around the southern Gulf of Carpentaria in NT and Qld today. A trough of colder upper air moving slowly east across Western Australia caused moist air feeding in from the tropics to its east to rise, producing a major cloudband over Queensland and the NT, and the heavy falls for the dry season in the southern Gulf. Croydon, 170km from the SE corner of the Gulf, recorded 60mm in 24 hours to 3pm today, while Centre Island in the SW Gulf recorded 33mm between 3pm and 8pm. Other high figures are given below. The cloudband kept maximum temperatures in the area up to 11° below average today, with the mercury struggling to reach 18. Burketown Post Office recorded a top of only 17.3, just 0.1° above the station's coldest ever June day on 30 June 1957.