News
23 January, 2024
Soak up the rain
The Somerset and Moreton region is forecast to cop over 100mm of rain across the Australia Day long weekend due to the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Kirrilly.
The cyclone was tracking towards the far north Queensland coast as of Wednesday, with predictions it would cross near Townsville as a Category 2 system.
The system will travel inland before turning south with heavy rain of 200mm plus inland and heavy flooding from Tully to St Lawrence.
The south east won’t be as affected, however Esk could receive as much as 105mm across the weekend to Monday.
The Moreton Bay area could receive about 180mm, with the heaviest falls coming on Sunday, with 2-80mm forecast as of yesterday (Tuesday).
The rain comes after weeks of storms, consistent rain and flooding as well as heatwaves across the region.
Authorities are urging flood preparation and storm caution, despite the system mainly impacting central and north Queensland.
Monitoring flood warnings and having a flood action plan, including evacuation routes, emergency kits and flood insurance, should all be kept in mind for the remainder of the month, especially this upcoming weekend.
According to the BOM, this past December and current January, SEQ has seen over double the amount of rainfall compared to 2022-2023, having already received between 300 and 600mm of rain, compared to 50 and 200mm of rainfall for the entire two months of December and January last year.
While the rain has been welcomed by many, bringing the landscape and paddocks back to life after a very dry spring, the joy is forecast to be short-lived, as the effects of El Nino continue until March.
The BOM predicts another drier period beginning in February, with temperatures set to be hotter than average.
While it is predicted to be drier and hotter, this does not mean no rainfall, just less than what the region has experienced within the past weeks.
