It may be the Dry Season, but freakish amounts of rain have been falling in many parts of Outback Australia … even in the north.
The ABC reports that a mammoth rain band has been spreading across the country toward the eastern seaboard. A thick band of cloud spanning thousands of kilometres has seen flood warnings issued, and some road closures in place across the Kimberley, Northern Territory and South Australia.
By this morning, some 64 millimetres of rain had lashed Uluru, sending waterfalls cascading down the rock.
In the central parts of the Kimberley, including Siddins Creek and Landsdowne, the ABC reports that 50-70mm of rain has already fallen.
Grey nomads have been surprised by unexpected rain events. PIC: Cizza
The cloud band is also set to reach the eastern seaboard over the next few days, with a second pulse of cloud forecast to deliver further rain to the north-west from Thursday and potentially significant rainfall to Queensland by the end of the weekend.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Jessica Lingard told the ABC that a cloud band like the one currently stretching over the country hadn’t been seen for a decade.
“Seeing them this far north is quite unusual, especially to see the amount of rainfall that we’re expecting through the Kimberley,” she said.
Meteorologists told the ABC that the prolonged spell of rain is predicted to bring widespread totals in the range of 50-100mm from the Kimberley through to the southern parts of the Northern Territory and on to tropical Queensland, which would make it the most widespread winter falls in at least 16 years.
As most grey nomads are well aware, June and July in northern Australia and are typically marked by endless blue skies.
But for any travellers wondering whether it was worth taking the trip north, it’s worth bearing in mind what is happening elsewhere. Perth city has reportedly recorded its coldest morning since 2016 with a low of 0.7 degrees Celsius reported this morning. The coldest place in WA today was Wandering in the Wheatbelt which plunged to a low of -2.6C.
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