Weather

Weekly rainfall wrap + rain outlook, 29 January 2020

Bureau of Meteorology, January 29, 2020

MODERATE falls reported across northern and eastern Australia, while a tropical low and trough brought moderate to heavy falls to northern Queensland.

Past seven days: At the start of the week, surface troughs extended across northern and eastern Australia, and in the south, a cold front tracked across the Great Australian Bight before crossing south-east Australia. Thunderstorms and showers brought moderate falls to much of northern Australia and across eastern Queensland. Moderate falls were recorded in southern central Victoria and Tasmania, associated with the passage of the cold front. As the cold front moved across eastern New South Wales, another cold front quickly followed, and brought further moderate falls to parts of eastern New South Wales, eastern Victoria and western Tasmania.

By the middle of the week, a broad low pressure trough extended over northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and northern Queensland. Another through extending from the north-west and central Queensland to north-east New South Wales triggered widespread thunderstorm activity across the north of the country, and most of Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales.

A humid west to northwesterly flow was constantly feeding moisture into northern Australia, and a slow-moving tropical low pressure system lingered about the Northern Territory and Queensland border. Widespread showers and thunderstorms with locally heavy falls extended over the Top End of the Northern Territory, and northern districts of Queensland. Showers and thunderstorms also extended from central and south-east Queensland to north-eastern New South Wales.

At the end of the week, the tropical low was located over the south-eastern Gulf of Carpentaria and moderate to heavy falls and squally thunderstorms developed over the gulf country in Queensland. Slow-moving thunderstorms south of Townsville produced moderate to locally heavy falls about the Burdekin coast of Queensland.

Rainfall totals in excess of 200 mm were recorded in parts of the Gulf Country, the northern interior and along the north tropical and Burdekin coasts of Queensland. The highest weekly total was 475 mm at Ayr DPI Research Station in north Queensland. Higher totals were reported by some gauges not within the standard bureau network, including 617 mm at Rita Island (in the Ayr region).

Rainfall totals in excess of 100 mm were recorded in a small area of the Kimberley, the Darwin–Daly district in the Northern Territory, the gulf country, the northern interior, the north tropical and central coasts of Queensland, and in parts of western Tasmania.

Rainfall totals in excess of 50 mm were recorded in parts of the Kimberley in Western Australia, the northwest Top End and the Carpentaria and Barkly districts of the Northern Territory, across large parts of central to northern Queensland, parts of south-east Queensland,north-eastern New South Wales and the western half of Tasmania.

Rainfall totals between 10 mm and 50 mm were recorded in remaining parts of the Kimberley, in the north and east of the Northern Territory, across most of Queensland except in the far south-west, the north-eastern quarter and south-east inland areas of New South Wales, most of Victoria except in the north-west and far east, south-eastern South Australia and the eastern half of Tasmania.

Little to no rainfall was recorded in remaining parts of Western Australia, the southern parts of the Northern Territory, south-west Queensland, western New South Wales, and South Australia away from the south-east.

Highest weekly totals

New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory
137 mm Quirindi (Spring Vale)
112 mm Werris Creek (Yandilla)
107 mm Nundle (Malonga)

Victoria
49 mm Cape Schanck
45 mm Main Ridge, Wonthaggi

Queensland
475 mm Ayr DPI Research Station
358 mm Alva Beach
313 mm Atherton Solar Crescent

Western Australia
105 mm Mount Hart Station
89 mm Yulmbu
77 mm Kalumburu

South Australia
20 mm Uraidla (Sutton Creek), Ashton
19 mm Lenswood

Tasmania
140 mm Mount Read
85 mm Zeehan
79 mm Jackeys Marsh

Northern Territory
263 mm Gunn Point
232 mmLabelle Downs, Geriatric Park

Rainfall outlook

 

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