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 Steady,
heavy rain relieves drought in central southern QLD
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| Rainfall for the week ended 9am Tuesday 11 February. BoM |
Widespread heavy rainfall was recorded in the upper Warrego River and
its tributaries between the 8th and 11th. Minor to moderate flood levels
were reported downstream to Charleville, with a flood peak of 5.0 metres
recorded at Charleville on the 11th. Major flooding also occurred in the
Ward and Langlo Rivers. Moderate to major flooding extended downstream
from Charleville on the Warrego River, with the major flood peak of 9.26
metres reaching Cunnamulla Bridge on the 16th. Moderate to major flooding
continued downstream to the New South Wales border during the remainder
of the month. The initial flood warning was issued on the 9th and finalized
on the 21st when the flood peak had passed Rockhampton and river levels
fallen below the minor flood level.
The headwaters of the Murray-Darling River system have begun to flow
significantly for the first time in around two years at Augathella in
southwestern QLD. Augathella, in the southwestern blue splodge in the
map above, receives
around
50mm of
rain in a normal February. In the week to 9am on Tuesday 11 February,
it received 272.3mm. Flooding, some major, is now developing in many of
the Darling River's
QLD tributaries.
There has been rejoicing through much of central southern QLD over the past
three days as an area of rain brought in by dying Tropical Cyclone Beni kept
moving inland, and just kept raining. The kind of conditions that produce such
widespread and long duration rainfall -- very moist northeasterlies in the
lower atmosphere, a surface trough to help with convergence and upper cooler
air to assist widespread uplift -- have not been seen since November 2000 when
the last rain of note fell from the Warrego to the Central Highlands, and westward
into the Central West. Only in two or three months since then have there been
patchy areas of above average rainfall across the region.
Minor flooding developed in the upper Warrego, and the Paroo, Alice and Barcoo
Rivers on Sunday, and developed further today. The Paroo at Humeburn peaked
at 4.7m
this morning and major flooding was expected downsteam towards Eulo. Moderate
flooding was occurring this morning in the Warrego at Augathella, and minor
flooding at Charleville. The Barcoo River at Gillespie peaked at 5.30 metres
at 6pm Sunday, with minor flooding expected downstream at Blackall. In the
Alice River system, the main flood waters were approaching Jericho this
afternoon with moderate flooding.
Among the heaviest falls for the week to 9am
Tuesday 11 February, almost all of which fell during this rain event, were:
In the Central Highlands: |
248.1 CLERMONT POST OFFICE
240.4 BAUHINIA DOWNS STORE
224.6 DUARINGA POST OFFICE
224.4 DYSART POST OFFICE
218.0 GLENCOE
215.8 BRIGALOW RESEARCH STN
185.0 NEWLANDS
183.5 TAMBO POST OFFICE
183.4 DRENSMAINE
170.4 WESTGROVE TM
|
168.2 ANAKIE RICHARDSON ST
157.0 WINVIC
155.4 WYSEBY
150.6 ALPHA POST OFFICE
149.8 REWAN STATION
144.0 TOLINESS STATION
139.0 THE SANDSTONE
125.0 RIVINGTON
109.6 ALPHA
106.9 CURRAJONG
104.2 BUNGABAN TM |
In the Central West: |
248.0 BERESFORD STATION
128.6 EASTMERE
|
124.5 ULCANBAH |
In the Warrego: |
272.3 AUGATHELLA POST OFFICE
239.8 WANSEY DOWNS
180.1 WARILDA
167.5 WETLANDS
|
159.4 BAYSWATER
148.0 LOCHINVAR
145.0 BOGARELLA
125.4 NIVE DOWNS
104.4 RACEVIEW TM |
Some of the higher totals for the same period along the coast were:
On the Central Coast:
|
519.0 BYFIELD CHILDS ROAD
373.0 SAMUEL HILL AERO
275.4 YAAMBA
|
271.2 PACIFIC HEIGHTS
259.6 GIRU POST OFFICE
203.6 FOLEYVALE STATION
|
On the South Coast Curtis:
|
633.4 MAKOWATA
570.2 GLADSTONE AIRPORT
566.4 GLADSTONE RADAR
508.0 MOUNT WALLABY
488.8 MIRIAM VALE
450.6 HAZELDEAN
397.2 MOUNT LARCOM POST OFFICE
389.0 BUILYAN GUM STREET
373.8 FERNFIELD
356.6 WALTERHALL
323.8 WOWAN POST OFFICE
|
315.8 JAMBIN POST OFFICE
315.0 ROCKLEY
312.2 MONTO AIRPORT
309.4 ROSEDALE POST OFFICE
289.9 BARALABA POST OFFICE
263.8 BANANA POST OFFICE
260.0 MOURA POST OFFICE
258.3 THANGOOL AIRPORT
255.0 ABERCORN TM
254.2 TOWN OF 1770
251.4 ABERCORN
250.5 GLENLANDS
|
On the South Coast Moreton:
|
267.5 RAINBOW BEACH
|
257.0 TOOLARA (KELLY)
|
 Active
storms sweep across Sydney
A weak trough that moved slowly up the NSW South Coast today spawned
a broad area of thunderstorms ahead of it. By late afternoon, the lightning
tracker
was ablaze from the South Coast to Sydney, northwest to Bourke and north
to Tamworth and Newcastle. Patchy heavy rain was reported from across
this area
(see Downpours below),
with flash flooding at Bankstown in Sydney's west after 21.6mm
fell in 14 minutes to 4.04pm for a storm total of 35mm. There were press
reports of general minor
flash
flooding
and small hail
damage, and 11,000 homes mostly in the city's southwest lost power for
several hours after the storm. Bargo and Wombeyan Caves, southwest of
Sydney, reported 2cm diameter hail.
NEWSBITS
|
A trough that began the day sitting on the
WA west coast near Perth moved only very slowly east today, concentrating
hot northeastlies
in a band from the Albany area northwards through the wheat belt.
Albany Airport's top of 36.3 was 11.3 above the average. A bushfire that
was
started by lightning yesterday in the Waychinicup National Park, about
100km ENE of Albany, was dampened down by overnight rain after burning
through about 1,500 hectares.
Good news received today was that the Cascades and Tin Mine huts in
the south of the Kosciuszko National Park have survived the fires intact.
The fires in this area were particularly severe, and the huts, which
have
a deep
association
with the areas mining history, were not expected to have come through.
Lightning strikes caused fresh fire outbreaks north of Cann River and
on the Errinundra Plateau north of Club Terrace today. Near Omeo, a
fire is approaching grazing
land on
Cobungra Station, one of the high country's biggest grazing properties. Spotter
planes, which were due to search for fires started by lightning, were
grounded today by thick smoke and low cloud.
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