North Queensland hit by heavy rain as tropical low nears coast
- 19 minutes ago
- 1 min read
Heavy rain has lashed North Queensland overnight as a tropical low moves closer to the coast, bringing widespread wet weather across the region.
Areas near the Daintree River recorded about 425mm of rain, while nearby Daintree Village received around 300mm. Further north, Cooktown saw totals close to 200mm.
The weather system, known as Tropical Low 29U, is currently in the Coral Sea. While it is now unlikely to strengthen into a cyclone, forecasters say it will still bring intense rainfall as it crosses the coast near Innisfail today.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the system will then move inland before tracking south over the weekend. As it does, it will pull in large amounts of tropical moisture, increasing rainfall across northern and eastern parts of the state.
Authorities warn that river catchments in northern Queensland are already saturated, raising the risk of further flooding.
Heavy rain warnings cover areas from north of Tully to Cape Melville, including Cairns, Port Douglas and the Atherton Tablelands. Some locations could see 80–240mm of rain within six hours and up to 300mm over 24 hours.
The wet weather is expected to spread south to Townsville and Mackay, before reaching southeast Queensland by the weekend.
Cities including Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast are forecast to see the heaviest rain on Sunday, with totals of 50–100mm possible.
Temperatures in Brisbane are also expected to ease slightly, with a weekend high of around 26°C.
Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka – the leading platform for news for Australians.
Comments