Weather News

WA flooding continues

Ben Domensino, Thursday January 19, 2017 - 12:56 AEDT

Record-breaking rain is causing flooding over parts of Western Australia this week, while parched Perth misses out once again.

A slow-moving low pressure system and an associated trough are producing widespread showers and storms over the state's Interior, Kimberley and eastern Pilbara districts. Some locations have already picked up more than two month's worth of rain in just 24 hours, with more on the way.

Telfer received nearly 100mm in less than three hours last night as storms rumbled over the Pilbara. This is more than twice the January monthly average. The latest deluge brings their running total for the month to 306mm, which almost doubles the previous January record of 173mm set in 2013.

Further inland, Warburton (116mm) and Giles (65mm) have both received at least double their January average rainfall so far this month.

Looking ahead, showers and storms will continue to impact parts of the Pilbara, Kimberley and Interior districts during the next two days. Widespread totals of 30-60mm are likely, although heavier falls of 100-200mm are possible near the slow-moving low over the state's Interior.

Roads access may be cut off in eastern and northern parts of WA for an extended period of time following this week's rainfall.

Visit http://www.weatherzone.com.au/warnings.jsp for the latest flood watches and warnings and contact the SES if you need emergency assistance.

Unfortunately, none of this rain has made it to the state's parched southwest where Perth has only received 0.4mm of rain so far this month. This amount is paltry even for January, which is one of the city's driest months of the year.

- Weatherzone

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