Severe thunderstorms and heavy rain are forecast to move across most Australian states this weekend, piling more water onto a Queensland that has already had a very wet week.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has warned of severe thunderstorms, heavy rain and flash flooding in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania. It also had nine flood warnings in place for southern Queensland.
Senior BoM meteorologist David Crock said severe thunderstorms and heavy rain were expected at several locations in central and eastern Queensland on Saturday. They include Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg, the Sunshine Coast hinterlands and Roma. "There's plenty of rain across the south-east, as well as plenty of showers and storms and rain across much of Queensland as well, after what's already been a really wet week," he said.
Severe storms may also affect parts of Victoria, including Melbourne's eastern suburbs, as well as central and eastern South Australia. In Tasmania, heavy rain is expected to develop overnight into Sunday morning.
A cold front is due to cross New South Wales on Sunday, bringing severe thunderstorms to the west of the state, north-eastern Victoria, Sydney and Brisbane. Crock said the threat of thunderstorms would extend right across eastern Australia, with severe storms likely through a wide part of inland eastern Australia.
The forecast follows a week of extreme rainfall in Queensland. Several areas received more than double their average October rainfall over just a few days. Crock said the conditions were much more typical of summer, such as January or February, than of this time of year.
The Sunshine Coast hinterlands and Caboolture were hit by flash flooding and recorded seven-day rainfall totals of between 300mm and 400mm, with some areas reaching 450mm. Crock pointed to how persistent the weather pattern had been, with large amounts of moisture drawn in and totals building up over seven to 10 days across Queensland and northern New South Wales.
The heaviest falls came on Thursday, when torrential rain stretched from Caboolture south to the Border Ranges and some places received well over 200mm. The downpour caused flash flooding, water rescues and hundreds of calls for help to the State Emergency Service. Several schools were forced to close on Friday.
The Queensland fire department carried out more than 16 swift-water rescues. In one, crews used a raft to reach an elderly man who was clinging to the roof of his vehicle at Caboolture.
