Parts of Qld warned to brace for heavy rain over next three days
Residents in parts of Qld are being urged to get out their brolleys and gumboots, with up to 400 millimetres of rain expected to fall between Wednesday and Friday.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued an Initial Flood Watch for coastal catchments between Cairns and Gladstone, extending inland to parts of the Burdekin and Fitzroy catchments.
The weather bureau says widespread rainfall totals of 100 to 200mm are forecast to occur across the watch area from Wednesday evening through to Friday evening, with isolated heavier totals up to 400mm possible.
A second flood watch has also been issued for southwestern Queensland.
“A slow moving surface trough over southwestern Queensland will combine with an increasingly moist and unstable air mass to produce widespread showers and thunderstorms, spreading to rain at times during Thursday and Friday,” BOM warned.
“Widespread daily rainfall totals of 30-50mm are forecast from early Thursday through to late Friday across parts of southwestern Queensland. Isolated totals up to 100 mm are possible.”
A potent upper trough will increase chances of rain between #Townsville and #Rockhampton from late Wednesday. Event totals >100mm likely. pic.twitter.com/z2RskorigF
— BOM Queensland (@BOM_Qld) May 15, 2017
The downpour is also expected to hit NSW, with 20mm of rain expected to fall between Friday and Saturday in parts of the cities west.
The state experienced their coldest morning of the year on Wednesday, with temps dropping to a low 9.8C.
Chilly start this morning in #Sydney with a minimum of 9.8C – the coldest morning of the year so far. Forecast at https://t.co/lSQCQMz3uM pic.twitter.com/HmgBVi85o8
— BOM New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) May 16, 2017
