Topic: Rain event for NT, QLD and NSW 27 Feb - 5 March 2010

[Colin Maitland]

The news this morning was a warm autumn is expected due to recent higher than average temperatures in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.  Wide spread rain is expected in QLD and by looking at the models, also in Northern NSW.

BOM expects a monsoon low to move towards western QLD bringing with it rain and thunder over the weekend then it will swing to the east through the week.

With this scenario unfolding, comes the high chance of flash flooding.

Col

 

[Colin Maitland]

This was issued after I posted the previous post. It was issued 5.30pm or 6.30pm daylight saving time.

TOP PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE BROADCAST
SEVERE WEATHER WARNING
for Flash Flooding
For people in the Channel Country forecast district.

Issued at 5:35 pm on Saturday 27 February 2010

Synoptic Situation:
A large monsoonal low, currently over central parts of the Northern Territory,
is expected to move slowly southeast into the Channel Country early Monday.

Heavy rain is expected to cause localised flash flooding over parts of the
Channel Country  during Sunday.

These conditions are expected to extend eastwards into central and southern
districts of Queensland on Monday and Tuesday.

The State Emergency Service advises that people in the affected area should:

· avoid driving, walking or riding through flood waters

Contact the SES on 132 500 for emergency assistance if required.

[Colin Maitland]

We have had a rather wet day here in the SEQ. Forecast are for heavy rain this evening and into tomorrow. There are several weather alerts active for QLD at this point in time.

The latest Severe Weather Warning this afternoon from BOM is

TOP PRIORITY FOR IMMEDIATE BROADCAST
SEVERE WEATHER WARNING
for Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds
For people in the Wide Bay and Burnett and Southeast Coast forecast districts
Issued at 4:35 pm on Monday 1 March 2010

Synoptic Situation:
At 4pm, a trough extended across southern Queensland from a deep monsoonal low
situated west of Windorah. A secondary low is also expected to develop along
this trough near the Fraser Coast during Tuesday.

Areas of heavy rain are forecast to develop and cause localised flash flooding
in parts of the Wide Bay and Burnett and Southeast Coast districts tonight and
during Tuesday.

Damaging wind gusts to 100 km/hr are also forecast to develop about coastal and
island communities between Noosa Heads and Sandy Cape during Tuesday.

[Michael Bath]

The geographic extent of heavy rain from this monsoon low has been extraordinary. It has reminded me a massive system 29 March to 2 April 1988 - though that system started over northern WA rather than the NT.






Locally from this system we've had 40mm in the 24 hours to 9am today. More than half of that fell in about 20 mins to 8pm last night. The rest has been very steady light rain.

[Colin Maitland]

It is still very wet in QLD with more rain, and heavy at times, predicted for the next few days. Much of QLD received very high falls with many recording over the 100mm in 24 hour periods. As you would have read or heard in the media there has been major flooding from the monsoonal trough that moved down from the north. Chareleville and Roma were the worse effected areas with many residents evacuated as their towns were inundated.

Today all the attention has been drawn to St George and surrounding areas as the flood waters continue to make their way down, and as stated before, there is more rain on its way.

I have been very busy, so hopefully I should be able to post some rain totals today or tomorrow,unless someone else has them already, and would like to post them.

Col

[Macca]

308mm for me since last Saturday on the Sunshine Coast (Buderim) with 262mm for March already.  Had some trouble getting to the station on Tuesday with some local roads closed due to flooding and even today (after yesterdays 43mm of superdrizzle) the local creek is only a short burst of heavy rain from going over the road again. 

Things are a little damp to say the least.

Macca

[Paul D]

A few higher mm totals for the past week on the Sunshine Coast

                                    From Feb 27      From March 1
Baroon Pocket Dam SYN            385             311
Diddillibah AL *                        367             329
Eudlo AL *                              366             288
Ewen Maddock Dam AL *           387             340
Tanawha AL *                         375             340

As far as flooding (edit:- locally speaking) it has been relatively minor, Gympie had a moderate flood peaking at 13.64m (11pm on the 3rd March) which is roughly only a third the way into a moderate flood still > 3m below the major flood level. Appart from the 2nd-3rd the rain locally has been spread out over enough time to let the  creeks flow effectively, it certainly hasn't had the same effect as futher west over the divide.
We just don't have the cracked ground as things were before Christmas.. now all mush..
Cheers
Paul
 

[Michael Bath]

BoM have just released a special report:

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/statements/scs20.pdf

[Colin Maitland]

Thanks for those stats everyone.

As per the report that Michael has previuosly posted, QLD has broken a 54 year record with the amount of flooding that we have had. The news report, in part, from ninemsn states:

The weather system drowning Queensland has broken yet another record - this time for the area of land saturated by heavy rain, set 54 years ago.

The Bureau of Meteorology on Friday issued a special statement on the rains, which have flooded an area of Queensland larger than Victoria, and gave central Australia its best rainfall since 2001.

The rain event broke the Australian record for the area receiving 100 millimetres of rain or more.

Daily totals exceeded 100 millimetres over 1.9 per cent of Australia on Tuesday, breaking the previous record of 1.7 per cent set on December 22, 1956.

Last Sunday was the wettest day on record for the Northern Territory, with a territory-wide average of 29.23 millimetres.

Tuesday set a new record for Queensland, with a statewide average of 31.74 millimetres.

Over the 10-day period to Wednesday, the bureau says an estimated 403 cubic kilometres - or 403,000 gigalitres - of rain fell across the NT and Queensland.

Some of the higher totals from March 01 - 05 2010 for QLD were.

TAROOM POST OFFICE   214.2
KANDANGA POST OFFICE   260.4
KENILWORTH TOWNSHIP   208.0
MALENY TAMARIND ST   261.4
PEACHESTER           268.2
MITCHELL POST OFFICE   222.4
NOOSAVILLE           311.8   

Just an example of some of the totals throughout QLD to add to the list of the higher totals that fell around the Sunshine coast that Paul has posted.

Col