The Outback has been lashed by heavy rains over the past few days leaving tracks closed, communities cut off, and grey nomads stranded … but, while it may not feel like it now, drier times are ahead.
The Bureau of Meteorology says the tropical air mass that has moved from the Indian Ocean south-east across the country delivering significant rains to the interior is now losing its intensity.
Parts of South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania have hit by massive winds and heavy rainfall causing flash flooding, and some areas of Queensland received their highest daily May rainfall totals in 35 years.
In Western Queensland the ‘significant rain’ has equated to up to seven times the monthly average in some spots, and has been concentrated largely on the area stretching from the central west’s Uradangi, on the Northern Territory border, to Bollon, near the New South Wales border.
Large stretches of the Oodnadatta, Birdsville and Strzelecki tracks are closed to all vehicles, with several towns, including William Creek, Oodnadatta and Innamincka, being cut off.
On Sunday, Birdsville had its wettest May day since 1981, when 49.6 millimetres of rain was dumped on the iconic Outback town. Its average rainfall total for the entire month of May is 11.8 millimetres. About 300 kilometres to the south-east, Ballera Gas Field reportedly received 96.8 millimetres.
* Have you been affected by the wild Outback weather? Comment below.
We have had 54 valuable mls of rain in Rutherglen Victoria wish there was a lot more.