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A low over central Aust is providing storms & rain through the central interior & reaching into southeast Aust. An active monsoon across the northern tropics is bringing scattered showers & storms while some showers develop near WA's west coast in low pressure.
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Today, 3:49AM UTC
Simpson Desert tropical low causing flooding in four states
A rare weather pattern involving a near-stationary tropical low over the Simpson Desert is causing widespread rain and thunderstorms in central Australia this week, resulting in flooding across four states. The animation below shows a low pressure system sitting above the Simpson Desert region in central Australia. This animation reveals that the low barely moves over a 72-hour period from Sunday morning until Wednesday morning (today). Video: Composite day/night satellite imagery and modelled mean sea level pressure between Sunday, February 22 and Wednesday, February 25, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Rain and thunderstorms associated with this low pressure system have inundated parts of the Northern Territory, South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales over the last few days. Moisture from this low has also extended south and fuelled showers and thunderstorms in Vic, where flooding also occurred on Tuesday. Some of the standout rainfall observations from the last few days have included: 169 mm at Nappa Merrie, Qld in the 24 hours to 9am local time on Wednesday 121 mm at Winnathee, NSW in the 24 hours to 9am local time on Tuesday 118 mm at Rabbit Flat, NT in the 72 hours ending at 9am local time on Wednesday 99 mm at White Cliffs, NSW in the 72 hours ending at 9am local time on Wednesday This is exceptionally heavy rain for these parts of Australia. For example, Nappa Merrie is in a part of Qld that usually receives about 100 to 200 mm of rain in an average year. On Tuesday night this week, they picked up 97 mm in just six hours. While it has already been odd to see the low pressure system lingering over central Australia during the last three to four days, it could stay in a similar position until at least Saturday. This would make a whole week where the same tropical low has hovered above the Simpson Desert region, which is a remarkable and highly unusual meteorological event. Unfortunately for cities, towns and communities in central Australia, this is likely to mean more rain, thunderstorms and flooding in the coming days. From Friday into the weekend, rain and storms are also likely to extend further south in SA, NSW and Vic, and possibly towards Tasmania early next week. Image: Forecast accumulated rain during the 72 hours ending at 11pm AEDT on Friday, February 28, 2026. Source: Weatherzone. Flood watches, flood warnings and severe weather warnings are currently in place in parts of the NT, Qld, NSW and SA. Flooding is already occurring across parts of central Australia and will continue during the rest of this week and into next week. The State Emergency Service advises people to: Avoid flooded roads and never drive, ride or walk through flood water Keep clear of creeks and storm drains. Contact the SES on 132 500 for emergency help in floods and storms. Dial 000 if you need rescue.
Today, 12:55AM UTC
Mount Isa and Alice Springs break longstanding rainfall records
Mount Isa in Queensland has had its wettest February on record, while the Northern Territory town of Alice Springs has recorded its highest number of rain days in February. These are just two of the rainfall records that have tumbled as heavy rainfall continues across a vast swathe of Australia’s normally dry interior. February 2026 rainfall in Mount Isa After 40.4mm in the 24 hours to 9am Wednesday, Mount Isa’s running monthly total is now 318.6mm. That beat the old record of 282.5mm in records going back to 1926. February 2026 rainfall in Alice Springs Alice Springs received 2.4mm in the 24 hours to 9am Wednesday, and while that was a relatively insignificant amount, it was the 15th day this February on which rain has fallen – a new record which includes a nine-day rainy streak earlier in the month. While Alice Springs has not yet reached its highest rainfall total for February (record 241.6mm, running 2026 February tally 180.4mm), there remains the chance of showers and storms through till the end of the month. Image: Loop indicating atmospheric water vapour over Australia in the 12 hours to 10 am (AEDT) on Wednesday, February 25, 2026. Other outback locations with significant rainfall overnight In the 24 hours to 9am Wednesday, some huge rainfall totals were recorded, including: 169mm at Nappa Merrie, a cattle station in far southwestern Queensland near the South Australian border. 90.5mm at Tibooburra (Fort Grey), a weather station located at a campground in the far northwest corner of NSW. 72.8mm at White Cliffs, which was more than a quarter of that NSW outback town’s average annual rainfall in a day. 49.2mm at Moomba Airport in South Australia’s North East Pastoral region, which brought the running monthly total to 182.8mm. That means Moomba has already exceeded its average annual rainfall of 173.4mm! Why is so much rain falling in the outback? A slow-moving low pressure system and associated trough has been linking up with a consistent feed of tropical moisture from the north. Unusually, the low pressure system has remained in roughly the same spot for most of the week, and the weather pattern is not expected to change significantly for at least another couple of days. False-colour imagery captured by NOAA-21/VIIRS on Tuesday afternoon showing the tropical low over central Australia. pic.twitter.com/iwAxJjKYDT — Andrew Miskelly (@andrewmiskelly) February 24, 2026 Wet and stormy weather will also extend towards southern and southeastern Australia at times. There’s even some positive news for Adelaide residents lamenting the fact they’ve had just 6.4mm of rainfall to date in 2026 while some tiny South Australian outback towns have received up around 200mm. Wet weather should arrive in the SA capital on Friday, with the potential for some extremely welcome falls lasting into the weekend.
24 Feb 2026, 12:09AM UTC
Rainfall exceeds 100mm where three states meet
Extremely heavy rain has fallen in the region around Cameron Corner, the location where the borders of Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia intersect. Parts of the Northern Territory well south of the tropics also saw some very heavy rainfall totals. Notable rainfall totals in the 24 hours to 9am Tuesday included: 120.6mm at Winnathee, a weather station in the far northwest corner of NSW 106.6mm at The Garden, a weather station located just northeast of Alice Springs in the NT 85mm at Bellalie in the Quilpie Shire in the far southwest corner of Qld 43.6mm at Tibooburra Airport in far northwest NSW, which brought the February total to 123.4mm - more than half the average annual rainfall of 215.1mm in the town of approximately 100 residents 36mm at Moomba in South Australia What caused such heavy outback rain? A slow-moving low pressure system and associated trough has been interacting with a constant feed of tropical moisture from the north. Tropical low centred over the Simpson Desert on Tuesday morning. pic.twitter.com/9PpqKUQwYv — Andrew Miskelly (@andrewmiskelly) February 24, 2026 This system will continue to cause heavy rain and thunderstorms over parts of central Australia every day this week, as the low pressure system remains in roughly the same spot for most of the week. This is very unusual. As Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino explained on Monday, mid-latitude low pressure systems typically impact an area for only a day or two before weakening or moving away. But as mentioned, outback areas can expect more rain this week. Wet and stormy weather will also extend towards southern and southeastern Australia at times. Image: 12-hour loop showing water vapour over the interior of the eastern half of Australia from 9am to 9pm (AEDT) on Monday, February 23, 2026. You can see the rain and storms developing in the 12-hour loop above from 9am to 9pm on Monday. What does the water vapour layer show? As Weatherzone meteorologist Joel Pippard explains, water vapour satellite imagery tracks specific infrared radiation wavelengths that water vapour strongly emits, then converts that into a false colour image. "The more intense colours correlate with higher layers of moisture, and generally higher concentrations of water vapour," Pippard explains. "Areas shown in brown indicate that the moisture layer is very low, suggesting drier conditions higher up in the atmosphere."