SYDNEY is getting drenched, Brisbane looks set to get drenched and Melbourne could well get drenched again as a wild weekend of wet weather continues.
At about 3.30pm a band of heavy rain barrelled off the Blue Mountains into Sydney and Wollongong and it hasn’t stopped raining since (the rain radar is below).
Melbourne, which escaped the worst of the rain by this skin of its teeth, could see another band of showers push through on Saturday evening.
Brisbane could experience between 30-40mm of rainfall on Sunday and Monday.
Meanwhile, in north east Victoria and southern NSW, the most heavily affected areas, rainfall records have tumbled.
Echuca, on the Murray, has received 127mm of rain, more than has fallen since records began in 1881. Other areas will have received more than 200mm of rain, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has said.
The record-breaking rains was a “fairly exceptional” event, BoM senior forecaster Scott Williams said.
“Over the past 48 hours we’ve seen the development of a very large and quite intense weather event across southeastern Australia ... Victoria has borne the brunt of it,” Mr Williams said.
A severe weather warning is in place for heavy rain across much of eastern and northern Victoria, including Melbourne, and southern NSW.
A property is surrounded by floodwaters in Euroa, Victoria. Picture: AAP Image/Brendan McCarthy.Source:AAP
Forecasters have said more showers could enter the Victorian capital from around 6pm on Saturday evening. There are a series of major and minor flood warnings in place across NSW and Victoria amid fears swollen rivers will burst their banks. Emergency services have pleaded with people not to traverse flooded roads.
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Parts of Victoria have seen their heaviest rainfall ever with 186mm falling on Mount Wombat and 170mm at Euroa in the state’s north. Strathbogie has seen 165mm just since 9am on Saturday.
All eyes are on north east Victoria, southern NSW and Canberra where it’s been bucketing it down. While Melbourne is getting a respite from the rain, it could return this evening with 30-40mm falling.
Severe #thunderstorm warning for damaging #winds and heavy #rainfall for #Metropolitan #CentralTablelands#CentralWestSlopesPlains and parts of #NorthWestSlopesPlains, #SouthWestSlopes, #Illawarra, #Hunter #LowerWestern and #Riverina. Latest warnings at ow.ly/TDk330gXO2l
Forecast rain and wind for Sunday 3 December. Picture: Sky News WeatherSource:Supplied
The SES has received more than 1300 calls for help so far, roughly half of them in the Melbourne area.
On Saturday, the weather bureau defended its dire warnings after eyebrows were raised following far lighter downpours in Melbourne than were expected. “The way that it’s panned out has been similar to what we were predicting,” said the Bureau’s Dr Andrew Tupper.
The emergency services are particularly concerned about conditions in Euroa and Myrtleford and may order the towns to be evacuated. Several sections of the M31 Hume Freeway near Seymour were closed for a time due to flooding.
Flash flooding in Ascot Vale. December 1st 2017. Picture: Ellen SmithSource:News Corp Australia
Drenched streets in Euroa in northern Victoria. Picture: Alex Coppel.Source:News Corp Australia
Floodwaters reach the top of a sign in Euroa, Victoria, on Saturday. Picture: AAP Image/Brendan McCarthy.Source:AAP
Other states have also been hit. Canberra saw 35mm of rain and Wagga Wagga 43mm overnight. Rain is continuing today with heavy downpours in Sydney on Saturday afternoon.
Victorians have been warned to expect an “unprecedented” deluge today with severe thunderstorm and flood warnings across the region. A severe weather warning remains in place for heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and flash flooding in much of the state including Melbourne.
Up to 120mm could fall in the border town of Albury-Wodonga. There is a flood warning for Melbourne’s Yarra River with fears it could burst its banks.
A number of stations recorded their largest #daily #rainfall totals in December yesterday. These include Yalgogrin Nth (95mm), Gunbar (67mm), Griffith (61.4mm), Gundagai (58mm), Yanco (53.6mm) and Deniliquin (47.4mm). See the latest totals at ow.ly/hHVK30gXHTK
#Echuca, #LakeEildon and #Strathbogie have seen their heaviest #rain on record for any month. Well over 100mm and well over 100 years of data. #severe #flood @SkyWeatherAUS
All southbound lanes on the HUME FREEWAY between #Benalla & #Euroa are CLOSED due to flooding. Southbound traffic detour is via Shepparton. For road closures visit traffic.vicroads.vic.gov.au Never drive through floodwater. It takes just 15cm for a small vehicle to float. #vicfloods
Melbourne was spared the worst of the rain with around 20mm falling overnight in the CBD. But but you didn't have to travel far for the downpours to get much worse. Bundoora, in the northern suburbs, saw almost 40mm of rain. Coldstream, in the Yarra Valley, got past 50mm of rain. And the rain just got heavier outside the city.
On Saturday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the worst was over for Melbourne but it was a different story in the rest of the state.
“Some of these rainfall totals we’ve seen (are) well and truly the entire summer’s rain almost in just a 24-hour period,” he said.
“That is unprecedented and has put a significant strain on many different communities and some communities are certainly not out of danger or this event will continue to unfold in a number of communities, particularly in the northeast of the state.”
A sodden Bourke Street in Melbourne's CBD. Picture: AAP Image/James Ross.Source:AAP
A flooded road in Chelsea, Melbourne. Picture: AAP Image/James Ross.Source:News Corp Australia
The BoM’s Dr Tupper said Melbourne was lucky to escape the worst of the rain which skirted the city’s northern outskirts.
“Although Melbourne has thankfully been on the fringe of the affected area, there is the potential for enough rainfall for flash flooding.
“There may be totals of 40mm tonight (but) probably not too much in the day today.
“But tonight in technical terms we’re expecting some convergence between two streams of wind to form a line somewhere over Melbourne, possibly the western parts of Melbourne, possibly with falls of 20-40mm.”
He defended the BoM’s warnings including that the rain could cause a “threat to life”. At one point a metrologist compared the rain to the Titanic sinking saying, “They didn’t think the Titanic would sink, but it did two hours later.”
Victoria’s Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews talk on Saturday. Picture: AAP Image/Luis Enrique Ascui.Source:AAP
“You judge the severity of the event, before you know exactly where that event is going to hit,” said Dr Tupper.
“That’s why we went out very hard because we could see it was certainly going to be a large and impacting weather event,” he said.
“We’re getting much better at forecasting it but we know we won’t always get it with precision three or four days before the event. The way that it’s panned out has been similar to what we were predicting.”
An elderly couple became trapped in their car in floodwaters near Seymour on Friday night, rescued by a farmer in a tractor who plucked them to safety.
Late on Friday, Victoria’s Emergency Services Commissioner Craig Lapsley warned, “We’re not out of it. It hasn’t necessarily been across the state yet but it’s coming and the Bureau has been very clear in their forecast. The forecasted rain for Saturday is in the hundreds of millimetres. It could go as far as 250mm in the northeast.
“Saturday is the day and the Bureau is very clear (there will be) hundreds of millimetres of rain.”
Widespread falls of 20 to 40mm across the #Melbourne area in the 24 hours to 9am today, with falls in excess of 50mm across parts of the Dandenong and Yarra ranges: bom.gov.au/vic/flood/melb…
He said the north east Victoria region, including Wangaratta, was the area of the biggest concern with “hundreds of millimetres” of rainfall forecast.
“It could go as far as 250mm in the north east,” he said.
“However, it’s widespread rain so don’t underestimate what it means.”
The real fear is sudden and intense deluges associated with thunderstorms which could give a downpour destructive force.
Heavy rain falling in Euroa in central Victoria. Aaron Francis/The AustralianSource:News Corp Australia
Bourke Street in Melbourne's CBD as the rain struck on Saturday. Picture: AAP Image/James Ross.Source:AAP
Mr Lapsley said the Elwood canal, south east of Melbourne, was breaching and “will impact on properties”.
“We’ll have the normal December rainfall in two days. It’s coming.”
Several major events in Melbourne have been cancelled including Taste of Melbourne, Polo in the City, Opera in the Bowl, Arts Centre Melbourne’s outdoor Christmas market, Tennis Victoria Premier League, and all grades of Victorian Premier Cricket.
Commuters navigate a flooded underpass at Northcote train station. Picture: Jake NowakowskiSource:News Corp Australia
A car drives under the rail bridge in Melbourne where the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting the city could get one month's worth of rain in just two days. Picture: Darrian Trayn.Source:Getty Images
A woman crosses the street in Euroa during heavy rain. Picture: Alex CoppelSource:News Corp Australia
Several hundreds of millimetres of rain is forecast. Picture: Alex CoppelSource:News Corp Australia
Five hundred State Emergency Services (SES) staff are on standby in Victoria. The number one piece of advice: do not drive through flood waters.
Research released on Friday from NRMA Insurance showed a third of drivers weren’t confident of their skills in heavy rain.
“The reality is, it only takes a small amount of floodwater to make even a large vehicle unstable and potentially float away,” spokesman Ramana James said.
The Melbourne CBD is barely visible as the rain sets in. Picture: Michael FeatherstonSource:Twitter
Sky News Weather’s Mr Saunders told news.com.au a complex low pressure system is behind the weather event.
“A very warm and humid northerly airstream has drifted over southeast Australia and will clash with cold air moving north from the Southern Ocean,” he said.
“Warm air colliding with cold air is a volatile mix and led to the formation of a deep and complex low pressure system over southeast Australia.”
1/12/2017 SES volunteers filling sand bags in Port Melbourne as Victoria is set to experience heavy rain over the weekend. Picture David Geraghty/The Australian.Source:News Corp Australia
Mr Saunders said weather patterns across Australia took a dramatic swing this spring over Australia following the driest September on record for parts of eastern Australia.
He said “rain arrived with a deluge” in October and continued through November, which boosted the seasonal figures to near or even above average for many regions.
“Brisbane has totalled over 250mm by the end of November, the city’s wettest spring in seven years,” he said.
SES Sandbagging at Ocean Grove primary school Noel Kelleher (Bellarine SES) with students Veronica yr6 and Phoebe yr1, doing some preventive sandbagging at Ocean Grove Primary ahead of today's storms. picture: Glenn FergusonSource:News Corp Australia
WEEKEND FORECAST
Most of the rain has passed for South Australia. 20-22C for the next few days and possible showers.
Up to 40mm could fall on Saturday and a further 10mm on Sunday. Cloudy with possible sunny breaks when the clouds pass. Highs of 19C. A severe weather warning is in place though for heavy rain at times, thunderstorms and flash flooding so stay alert.
REGIONAL VICTORIA
The further north and east you go the wetter it gets with heavy and persistent rain for areas like Shepparton, Wangaratta and Bairnsdale. Wodonga could see between 40-120mm of rain. A severe weather warning is in place though for heavy rain at times, thunderstorms and flash flooding so stay alert.
A 100 per cent chance of rain on Saturday but the gauge shouldn’t get to more than 8mm with some showers on Sunday. Highs of around 14-15C.
Heavy rain across the weekend broken by some dry spells. Expect 10-15mm of rain for the next few days and highs of around 18-20C. Wagga Wagga and Albury could see heavier downpours. A severe weather warning for heavy rain and damaging winds in higher areas is in place for much of southern and inland NSW.
Rain increasing on Saturday and then easing on Sunday with highs of 28C. Heavy downpours are forecast for early next week of up to 20mm for Monday and Tuesday so keep a brolley handy.
A relatively dry Saturday but then a stormy Sunday and start to the week. 30mm could fall on Sunday and then a soggy 40mm on Monday with the possibility of thunderstorms.
32-34C across the Top End with sunshine and storms with Monday the wettest with up to 30mm of rain.
Never one to play the east coast’s game, Perth is a model of summertime weather this weekend. Clear skies every day, temperatures will reach 35C on Saturday and 37C on Sunday before dropping to 27C on Monday with the chance of a shower.
‘Unprecedented’: At least three states drenched as wild weather continues
![‘Unprecedented’: At least three states drenched as wild weather continues]()
Reviewed by Taha
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December 02, 2017
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