Thunderstorms and moderate to heavy rainfall for southern Queensland

01/12/2017

Showers and thunderstorms are expected to begin in the southwest on Friday associated with the passage of a trough forecast to bring moderate to heavy rainfall. Flooding and damaging winds are possible as the trough moves through southern Queensland.

A low pressure system is forecast to develop much further south, delivering very heavy falls for the southern states where Flood Watches and Severe Weather Warnings are already in place.

In Queensland the heaviest falls will occur later, on Sunday and Monday, and will be focussed around eastern districts south of Rockhampton and Emerald, including Gladstone, Bundaberg, Hervey Bay, the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

The Bureau has issued a Flood Watch today for coastal catchments from Gladstone to the NSW border and as far inland as Kingaroy. Severe Thunderstorm Warnings will be issued as necessary over the coming days.

Widespread 24 hour falls in the range of 20-40mm can be expected with the passage of the trough from Friday, increasing to 30-70mm for coastal catchments south of Gladstone on Monday.

Isolated heavier falls in the range of 80-150mm are possible each day with severe thunderstorms, and there is the potential for flash flooding.

The heaviest falls are expected in southeast Queensland, with event totals of 50-90mm expected over Sunday and Monday, with isolated higher totals in excess of 180mm possible.

Showers and thunderstorms are expected to ease significantly into Tuesday as the trough system moves offshore.

There is still some uncertainty regarding the timing and intensity of this system, and we are urging the public to stay tuned for specific warnings throughout this weather event.

Avoid travel if possible while warnings are in place and remember: if it’s flooded, forget it.

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The Bureau's website remains the most up-to-date and comprehensive official source of information: www.bom.gov.au/qld/warnings