Heavy rainfall and flooding will continue
to be a risk across parts of south-east Queensland and north-east New South Wales
over the next couple of days. Now we do still have large areas of flood
watches current extending from Yeppoon in Queensland all the way down to Coffs
Harbor in New South Wales. In these areas,
we have seen significant falls overnight reaching up to 100mm in some areas. Minor flooding has already been triggered
through parts of the Northern Rivers district, and it is anticipated
over the next couple of days we'll see further river rises
within our flood watch areas. So what is driving this flood risk? Well, we've got significant areas
of rain, showers and isolated storms across parts of south-east
Queensland and north-east New South Wales. Now that is combining with strong
onshore flow coming in from the east, increasing moisture, pushing
against the coast, and also kicking up some fairly gusty winds
along the coastal fringe at times too. Through the rest of today the heaviest
rainfall is likely to be between Mackay and Hervey Bay in this stretch of coast
as those winds bring moisture onshore. As we go into tomorrow, the heavier falls
are likely to shift southwards, moving into far south-east
Queensland and north-east New South Wales. That means a wetter day is on the way
tomorrow for Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Northern Rivers
areas of New South Wales. Continuing through Wednesday
will see showers gradually beginning to ease later in the day. As the system driving
this wet weather starts to move offshore. We're left with much more isolated
to patchy showers over land areas, which will continue
into the rest of Thursday as well, with much lower rainfall totals
at that stage in the narrative. Now, looking at our rainfall totals,
we can see them building through south-east Queensland
first of all, with the higher falls pushing into north-east New South Wales
through Wednesday going into Thursday. There is still a few different
possibilities as to exactly where those highest falls will hit,
but it is most likely through the south-east
and coastal parts of Queensland. We could see rainfall totals easily,
reaching 50 to 100mm over the next couple of days in these areas,
with locally higher falls pushing up towards 150
or possibly even 200mm. Now, of course, as I mentioned, that has triggered the flood
watch and warning products that we've seen across south east
Queensland and north east New South Wales. These are indicating
an ongoing risk of our waterways and river systems
rising in response to this rainfall. That could cause road and access issues
as water moves over the roads, and we may even see inundation of some low lying properties
close to those creeks and waterways. Minor flooding,
as I said, already occurring through parts of the northern rivers,
likely to peak over the next day or so, as water
continues to move through these systems. But it's not just
the rain and the flooding that this system is bringing to parts of south-eastern
Queensland, we're also seeing a risk of a large waves, particularly
about the far south-eastern coast, as easterly winds
push this strong surf against the shore. We do have hazardous surf warnings
extending from the Capricornia coast all the way down to the Queensland New South Wales border,
flagging the risk of dangerous conditions out on the water, dangerous
for boaters, fishers and swimmers. But we do also have a coastal hazard
warning for parts of the K’gari Coast and Sunshine Coast
extending down to around Maroochydore, and that's flagging the risk of large
waves and moving up onto the beaches, which may cause coastal erosion
in some parts. This story with rain, flooding
and large waves is continuing to unfold over the next couple of days,
so it's essential to follow the updates via the Bureau's website
or the BOM social media. Stay safe and we'll catch you next time.