Heavy unseasonal rainfall has brought chaos to the travel plans of many grey nomads with treacherous driving conditions forcing the closure of many Outback roads.
The Glam Adelaide publication reports that the deluge, caused by an unusual meteorological pattern, has dumped an entire season’s worth of rain on several states, severely affecting travel and infrastructure in these areas.
It says the heavy rains have been attributed to a strong high-pressure system to the south of Australia, pulling moisture-laden air from the east.
Impacts are being particularly felt in parts of South Australia and Queensland, with cloud cover increasing, and rains expected to spread to New South Wales and further into Queensland in the coming days.
Heavy rains have made driving conditions in some areas difficult. Pic: Pixabay / Gaborszoke
Places like Birdsville, Blinman, Coober Pedy, Iron Knob, Parachilna, Roxby Downs and other areas have been heavily impacted.
In parts of Outback Queensland, the ‘unusual’ winter drenching has dumped up to 50 millimetres of rain.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Felim Hanniffy told the ABC that some areas in the state’s far west had recorded up to 10 times the average July rainfall in a weekend.
“It’s certainly unusual given the average is generally around 4–5mm for July — that just shows you the significance of this rainfall,” he said.
Police told the ABC that, for the most part, the thousands of people in Birdsville for the Big Red Bash last week had managed to leave before just before the rain hit.
Several dirt roads in and out of Birdsville have been closed due to the rain.
Birdsville Senior Constable Stephan Pursell said motorists were adhering to the road changes.
“We had to get a few people out of camping bogs, they just got caught out by the rain,” he told the ABC. “Local councils don’t close the roads lightly, they do it for safety reasons and to preserve the roads … if they’re closed, it’s usually for a pretty good reason.”
Ironically, all the rain and the floodwaters that moved through areas like the Channel Country earlier this year are likely to end up attracting more travellers out there.
“This rain in particular has been what you call soaking rain across the Outback… it’s just going to keep bringing it more and more to life,” Senior Constable Pursell told the ABC. “This greenery and wildlife that we’ve had is just going to continue … we’ll make sure the roads are right and the people can make sure they come out and visit.”
Grey nomads and other travellers are urged to use caution and check the latest road conditions before heading into the Outback.
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We had planned to check out western Queensland this winter (usually the “dry season”!) travelling from south coast NSW for some warmth. We got as far as Trangie NSW and realized rain would turn our next destinations of Burringun, Cunnamulla & Thargomingah to mud (which doesn’t go too well with 2 fluffy dogs!), so spent an enjoyable week in west NSW while the sun was shining. The upside of all this rain will be an abundance of wildflowers in spring.
If you don’t have a travel plan A, AND Plan B, AND plan C then you need to stay home.