Weather News

Tropical soaking to cause flooding in QLD and NT

Ben Domensino, Friday January 24, 2020 - 10:37 AEDT

Widespread rain and thunderstorms will affect parts of northern Queensland and the NT during the next week, with more than 300mm of rain and flooding possible in some areas.

Moisture-laden winds feeding into a slow-moving low pressure system and trough will cause rain and storms across a broad area of northern Australia each day for at least the next week.

This stagnant system will produce multiple days of heavy rain in Queensland and the NT, with some places likely to see enough rain to cause flooding.

The heaviest rain is expected to occur over northwest Queensland and eastern districts of the NT, near and to the south of the Gulf of Carpentaria. This region could see more than 100mm on a number of days, with accumulated totals likely to push above 300mm by late next week.

Image: Forecast accumulated rain for the next eight days (Friday 24th to Friday 31st) according to the ECMWF-HRES model.

This rain event will cause flooding and could cut off some roads in northern Australia. While the low pressure system driving the coming week's heavy rain should remain over land, some areas could see rainfall that's characteristic of an ex-tropical cyclone moving inland.

Flood watches and warnings, along with more detailed severe weather warnings, are likely to be issued in Queensland and the NT during the coming week.

- Weatherzone

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