Weather News

Flash flooding swamps parched Townsville

Rob Sharpe, Tuesday February 9, 2016 - 13:54 AEDT

A powerful band of severe thunderstorms swept through Townsville on Monday evening, with rain rates in excess of 100mm per hour.

The wettest location was Aplin Weir, which amassed a total of 196mm, of which 143mm fell in just one hour, more than enough to temporarily turn streets into rivers.

Nearby, Annandale and Kirwan both amassed over 50mm in half an hour, leading to flash flooding.

Rain totals across the Townsville region were fairly hit and miss, with the main weather station for the region at Townsville Airport merely recording 49mm from the rain and storms, whilst other parts received even less.

Unfortunately the heavy rain has barely helped the drought situation. The heavy falls missed the Ross Dam catchment, with only lighter falls affecting the region. At 9am this morning the dam was sitting at only 22% of capacity. The reason for the dam being at such extraordinary low levels is that Townsville has only received approximately one third of its average rainfall across the past year and a half.

Looking ahead and conditions will be generally dry until at least the middle of next week.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2016

Enter a postcode or town name for local weather, or text to search the site. » advanced search

Weather News

» all stories

Bonsoy Gold Coast Pro surf forecast

07:00 AEST After an emotional mid-year cut at the Margaret River Pro surf competition in Western Australia last week, surfers that fell below the cut line, along with up-and-coming talent, will be battling it out on the Gold Coast from this weekend onwards. The first stop on the Challenger Series (the lesser format of the Championship Tour) will take place along the Gold Coast’s premier surf point breaks, starting this morning and running to Saturday May 4th.