Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology forecast severe storms across several states through Monday, with locally heavy rain early Saturday threatening flash floods in Queensland catchments that were already wet.
The Bureau’s forecast was current at 9 p.m. ET Thursday (01:00 UTC Friday), corresponding to noon AEDT Friday, Oct. 23. It forecast Saturday storms in parts of South Australia and western Victoria, including areas near Melbourne. A slow-moving rain band could bring Melbourne 30 to 40 millimeters from Saturday night into Sunday.
The Bureau said Caboolture recorded 240 millimeters of rain in six hours on Oct. 22. It described catchments across southern, southeast and central Queensland as very wet, with moisture levels unusually high for October and more typical of February. The Bureau’s video also said people had been rescued and roads and schools closed during preceding flooding. The forecast follows flooding that disrupted roads and school schedules in southeast Queensland.
For Sunday, Oct. 25, severe thunderstorms were forecast during the afternoon and evening across the Australian Capital Territory, western New South Wales and parts of western Queensland. Damaging winds, large hail and heavy rain were possible. Storms could also reach Sydney or Brisbane, though the Bureau said the chances were lower. Additional locally heavy rain early Saturday could cause flash flooding in southeast Queensland and possibly parts of northern New South Wales.
The storm risk was expected to move to New South Wales’ Northern Rivers region and parts of southeast Queensland on Monday, Oct. 26. The Bureau forecast more settled weather in southeast Australia from Tuesday, with the system expected to move into the Tasman Sea late Monday. The agency cautioned that forecast changes could lead to frequent updates to severe-weather warnings.
