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Queensland's central coast flooded overnight

Ben Domensino, Wednesday January 4, 2017 - 11:28 AEDT

Roads were underwater last night as Queensland's central coast received more rain in 12 hours than the past two months combined.

A near-stationary low pressure trough located near the state's central coast has been producing heavy rain in the Mackay region since Tuesday evening.

The heaviest falls occurred in the moisture-laden onshore flow just south of the trough, where Sarina collected 304mm and nearby Sucrogen Weir received 273mm during 24 hours to 9am today.

Mackay Airport recorded 230mm between 6pm Tuesday and 6am today, which is more rain than they saw during November and December combined. It is also the airport's heaviest daily total in at least 21 years.

Falls were much lighter north of the trough, where Proserpine only collected 29mm during the last 24 hours and Hamilton Island had 51mm.

A number of roads around Mackay remained closed this morning due to flooding, according to the RACQ website. As of 9am local time, minor flooding had also developed in Funnel Creek, south of Mackay.

More rain and storms will affect the central coast during the next few days as the trough remains near-stationary over the region.

The heaviest falls today will be near and south of Mackay, where another 50-100mm could cause further flooding. Similar falls are likely on Thursday and Friday before easing over the weekend.

Northern Queensland is also being affected by showers and storms this week associated with an active monsoon trough. This activity will continue during the next few days and may cause areas of localised flooding.

- Weatherzone

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