- The weather agency warned that Sunday would bring severe thunderstorms to parts of Australia.
- The storm risk is projected to increase over the first week of 2024.
- There will be locally heavy rainfall in certain areas of Queensland, which could result in flash flooding.
The weather agency warned that Sunday would bring severe thunderstorms to parts of Australia’s east for the second day in a row and that flash floods might be dangerous due to heavy rains.
A severe weather system that has been sweeping through the southern parts of Queensland and northern New South Wales for the past 24 hours has resulted in wind gusts approaching 100 km/h, heavy rain, and hailstones as large as 5 cm.
Flash flooding
The Sunshine Coast region of Queensland has seen 127mm of rain, or one month’s worth of rain, and is predicted to have another day of severe thunderstorms. The storm risk is projected to increase over the first week of 2024.
There will be locally heavy rainfall in certain areas of Queensland, which could result in flash flooding. Up to seventy former emergency service personnel and veterans of the armed forces will be sent by the government to help with storm-related cleanup.
The most recent storms come after harsh weather on December 25 and 26, which left tens of thousands of homes without electricity and claimed ten lives. Australia‘s weather extremes have increased due to climate change, and the country is currently experiencing the El Niño weather phenomena during the summer. The outback of Queensland is seeing heatwaves in the north despite showers in other areas. On Sunday, the temperature in one town reached 45C. Southeast weather, however, is predicted to be pleasant.
