Weather News

Rain transforms The Red Centre

Ben Domensino, Wednesday August 31, 2016 - 18:20 AEST

The heaviest August rain in decades turned central Australia into an eerie place this week, causing waterfalls and thick fog.

A northwest cloud band brought rain to the region on Monday and Tuesday, carrying moisture from the tropics across the typically dry Red Rentre.

Alice Springs pick up more than a month's worth of rain in a day as 14mm hit the gauge on Tuesday. This was also the wettest day August day in 41 years.

The brief burst of rain was enough to give tourists a chance to witness rare waterfalls running down the side of Uluru. Social media was also flooded with photos and videos of the impressive event.

Moisture left behind after a two consecutive days of rain helped produce fog on Wednesday morning, another unfamiliar sight for locals and visitors. Visibility at Alice Springs Airport dropped as low as 50 metres and was still just 200 metres at 9am as fog refused to burn off. While fog at Alice Springs is an annual occurrence, it occurs less frequently here than cities closer to the coast due to a lack of moisture in central Australia.

Showers and thunderstorms will continue in the area tonight and into Friday morning, with heavy falls east of Alice Springs possibly causing flooding in the Simpson Desert region. Dry weather will return by the weekend as the band of cloud moves east.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2016

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