Weather News

No dry July for Queensland

It has been a wet week so far in Queensland with widespread rainfall across much of the state due to a series of low pressure troughs fed by moist easterly winds. July is typically one of the driest months across the state, but for parts of the east and central west it has been unusually wet.

So far, the largest totals have been received along the tropical east coast. During the 24 hours to 9am on Tuesday, Innisfail received 145mm while Townsville Airport had 88mm. For Townsville this is a new 24 hour record for July since 1950. A further 7mm yesterday brought their monthly total to 95mm. This is more than six times the July average.

Parts of the central west of the state have also received average or above rainfall in the 24 hours to 9am. Longreach had 58mm and Blackall had 29mm, which is more than double their July average. This was also Longreach's heaviest July rain in 34 years.

The state's southeast was generally drier, however the Sunshine Coast still picked up 25-40mm. There was less than 10mm in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast.

Another burst of rain is on the way, as a trough moves in from the west. This trough will generate showers over much of the state each day until the weekend, with the heaviest falls late Friday into early Saturday. For the central west further rain will add to an already markedly wet July. In the southeast, Brisbane and the Gold Coast are likely to receive an additional 20-40mm over the next four days and the Sunshine Coast a further 25-50mm.

Showers in the southeast will ease later on Saturday before clearing the state on Sunday, in time to sneak in some outdoor activities before the weekend ends. For the north a few showers may linger about, although falls will be light.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2012

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