Two days of decent rain in parts of Queensland that really need it
We told you on Friday that a large northwest cloudband was coming, and that it could deliver widespread rain to numerous states
A decent portion of New South Wales received rain on Sunday, and Queensland now looks to be in for a good soaking in places that could certainly use it.
This is the map of predicted total rainfall in the 48 hours from 11 pm AEDT Sunday (last night) through till 11 pm Tuesday.
As you can see, the northwest cloudband is now concentrating its effects on Queensland, the eastern part of the NT, and northwestern and eastern NSW. And if you need a reminder of what a northwest cloudband is, here's the piece Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino wrote during winter.
OK, so how much rain will fall in this system and how badly do they need it?
As you can see above, there'll likely be nothing too spectacular in terms of overall totals inland (though the extent of the area where it could rain is reasonably impressive), but the southeast corner of Queensland could be in for a bit of a drenching on Tuesday, as could northeastern NSW.
Much of inland, central and southeastern Queensland has been relatively dry in recent times. This map, released by the Bureau of Meteorology on September 30, shows the three-monthly rainfall percentages in Queensland. As you can see, rainfall has been around half of normal in the areas mentioned, or even a little less.
Image: Beautiful one day, a little too dry and perfect the next. Source: BoM.
As we write this story, light rain is falling around Longreach in outback Qld, with 3.8 mm recorded in the gauge to 9 am this morning, its first rain for October.
Now normally, we wouldn't do a big song and dance about 3.8 mm of rain, but when you consider that that's more than Longreach received in either September or August, it's a step in the right direction.
We'll keep you posted over the next 24-48 hours as this system heads east.