Weather

Weekly rainfall wrap + 14 day outlook, 4 Oct 2017

Sheep Central, October 4, 2017

 

For today’s 14-day rainfall outlook – scroll to bottom of article

Late in the week, strong troughs combined to produce very heavy rain in the Wide Bay and Burnett districts in Queensland. Cold fronts brought moderate to heavy falls along Western Australia’s South Coast; also in western Tasmania.

Past seven days: At the start of the week, isolated thunderstorms from a broad, complex low pressure system delivered light to moderate falls along the South Coastal District of Western Australia, with light falls also around Perth and the West Coast; light rain fell along a trough extending from the system to the northwest. The system progressed eastward over the next day with isolated showers along the troughs and developing front, including heavier falls in the southwest of the Northern Territory, western Tasmania, and the New South Wales Tablelands.

Around mid-week a band of middle-level cloud became established over Central Australia, generated by a pair of strong surface troughs extending from the northwest of Western Australia through the Northern Territory and Central Australia to the southeast coast of Queensland and the New South Wales Central Coast. The resulting convective showers delivered moderate rainfall across a broad area of Central Australia, with lighter falls following in southern Queensland.

Meanwhile, Tasmania’s western coast received moderate to heavy rain due to a passing cold front behind the southern tail of the troughs, with some light falls in southern Victoria.

During the last few days of the week the strong surface troughs curved to follow the northern and western coastlines of Australia, spawning showers and thunderstorm activity over northeastern regions of the Northern Territory, where moderate to heavy rainfall was observed.

In Queensland, an easterly trough became established and persisted until the end of the week, resulting in widespread rain with isolated thunderstorm activity over Queensland’s southern and central interior and along the central and southern coasts. Moderate to heavy rain fell across eastern Queensland and northeastern New South Wales. Falls were especially heavy in the Wide Bay and Burnet District, where Bundaberg received 239 mm in the 24 hours to 9am on the 3rd with most of this total received in just a six hour period. The heavy rain caused some flooding across the region.

Totals in excess of 50 mm were observed in western Tasmania, Central Australia, and areas of Queensland in the Darling Downs and between the Central Highlands and Southeast districts. Locations around Bundaberg received more than 200 mm, including the highest weekly total of 276 mm at Woodgate Store.

Rainfall between 15 and 50 mm was recorded in areas surrounding higher falls, as well as in the Southern Coastal District of Western Australia, northeastern Tasmania, parts of the Kimberley and northwestern Northern Territory, and around the Otway Ranges in Victoria.

Rainfall totals between 5 and 15 mm were recorded surrounding areas of higher falls, across much of western Victoria and between South Gippsland and adjacent parts of the Northeast District, eastern Tasmania, a small area of Queensland between Townsville and Hughenden and parts of southern Queensland.

Little or no rainfall was recorded in much of Western Australia away from the Kimberley, South West Land Division and South Coast, the Northern Territory away from the south and northwest, South Australia away from the north, New South Wales away from the north and southeast, northern and western Queensland, and northwestern to central northern Victoria.

 

Highest weekly totals

 

New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory

76 mm Mullumbimby (Fairview Farm)

64 mm Byron Bay (Cape Byron Aws)

57 mm Ballina Airport Aws

 

Victoria

34 mm Cranbourne Botanic Gardens

28 mm Simpson South

25 mm Balook

 

Queensland

276 mm Woodgate Store

239 mm Bundaberg Aero

169 mm Mystery Park

 

Western Australia

39 mm Chillinup

34 mm Denmark

33 mm Warra Jarra, Geraldton Airport

 

South Australia

85 mm Todmorden

68 mm Tieyon

59 mm Mount Dare, Oodnadatta Airport

 

Tasmania

137 mm Mount Read

116 mm Lake Margaret Power Station

84 mm Queenstown (South Queenstown)

 

Northern Territory

61 mm Lambell’s Lagoon

52 mm Kangaroo Flats (Defence)

51 mm Shoal Bay

 

More weekly rainfall totals:

Source: BOM

 

 

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