Rain-hit region on high alert amid dual cyclone threat
Residents in sodden Far North Queensland are on alert over the likelihood of a tropical cyclone forming off the coast.
A heavy monsoonal burst over northern Australia is likely to produce more rain, with the possibility of twin low pressure systems developing into cyclones later this week.
A deepening monsoon trough is expected to lead to heavy falls across the far north, as another slow-moving system continues to dump big falls across the outback.
The Bureau of Meteorology is keeping a close eye on 29U, located east of Townsville, and 31U over the Gulf of Carpentaria – both could develop into tropical lows blater in the week.
Senior meteorologist Dean Narramore said regardless of whether they intensified into cyclones “we’re still going to see a big increase in rain and storms across northern Australia (this) week”.
Far North Queensland has already been inundated by rainfall during the wet season, with pastoralists having lost an estimated 100,000 head of cattle.
Mt Isa in the northwest had its wettest February on record, with more than 319 millimetres falling in the copper city.
Roads have been cut by flash flooding, with a man needing to be airlifted to safety after his car was washed away in Queensland’s Gulf Country.
Mount Isa’s LifeFlight chopper, accompanied by emergency services, flew to Nicholson River on Wednesday night and were able to reach a man on a sandbank surrounded by floodwaters.
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Motorists shone their car headlights on the river to help locate the uninjured man, who was taken to Doomadgee Hospital for precautionary assessment.
But the further south you go, the more the rain brings relief, thanks to another low stationed over the Simpson Desert – one of the driest parts of the continent.
Birdsville, in Queensland’s southwest corner, had 140 millimetres in two days, close to the town’s annual average of 162 – with more forecast.
In Brisbane, the chance of rainfall was low on Monday with the city predicted to reach an estimated top of 29C.
-with AAP
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