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Australia’s east coast is set to experience its biggest downpour in years, with both Sydney and Brisbane expected to be drenched.
Heavy rain hit Victoria overnight, courtesy of a band of rain moving east from central Australia.
And a low pressure system forming later this week could see the rain intensify as the rain band hits Sydney and Brisbane.
“Thursday to Saturday in Sydney and Brisbane looks wet with the heaviest rain likely to occur on Friday.” weather zone senior meteorologist Brett Dutschke told WhatsNew2Day Australia.
“On Friday alone we could see between 50 and 100mm in Sydney and there could be rainfall of over 100mm in some surrounding areas.”
“Brisbane could see some thunderstorms on Thursday and much of the rain will also fall on Friday.”
Heavy rain could cause pockets of flash flooding along the east coast from Victoria to southeast Queensland.
“Melbourne and surrounding areas received the biggest rainfall in more than four years overnight, with 90mm falling in the Dandenongs.”
“There could be some rain today in Melbourne, but later in the week it should avoid heavy rain, but it will be cold with highs around 17C.”
Sydney could be hit by a downpour later this week, with up to 100mm forecast to fall on Friday.
A map of accumulated rainfall for this week shows heavy rain is likely to fall in Sydney and Brisbane, while rainfall earlier in the week in Melbourne will ease.
A severe weather warning for heavy rain and damaging wind gusts remains in place for much of eastern Victoria, stretching from parts of Melbourne to southern Gippsland and the High Country.
The alert extends along the New South Wales border to parts of the southwestern slopes and snowy mountains, with damaging winds and peak gusts of up to 130km/h expected on Tuesday morning.
Nearly 500 requests for help were made to emergency services as thunderstorms, damaging winds and heavy rain hit Victoria.
There were nearly 250 reports of building damage and 110 food-related incidents across the state in the 24 hours to 7am, the SES said.
About 63 calls related to trees down on roadways during the wild storm.
A woman in Daylesford, central Victoria, narrowly escaped after falling into a stormwater drain shortly before 9 p.m.
She fell down an embankment and was swept away by fast-flowing water until she grabbed onto a metal pole, Victoria Police said.
The 58-year-old man tried to call for help, but could not be heard over the sound of rushing water.
He was eventually able to climb to safety suffering from minor cuts and bruises, police said.
Australia experienced three years of the La Niña weather pattern between 2020 and 2022, causing increased rainfall along the east coast.
A house in Lismore, northern New South Wales, engulfed in flames while submerged in floodwaters in 2022
Australia could switch to another La Niña pattern later this year, leading to increased rainfall.
2023 saw a transition to the reverse El Niño pattern, bringing drier weather, but some long-range forecasts say the pattern could change again later this year.
“A transition from El Niño to ENSO neutral is likely by April-June 2024 (83 percent probability), and La Niña is likely to develop by June-August 2024 (62 percent probability) “, stated the latest NOAA diagnosis.
A change from El Niño to La Niña could increase the risk of flooding along the east coast and the SES recently said western Sydney was the most flood-exposed part of New South Wales.
According to the New South Wales Government: ‘The Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley is one of the most complex floodplains in Australia’
“The unique landscape and large population in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley make this part of western Sydney one of the highest flood risk areas in Australia.”
HOW MARCH WAS VERY WET FOR MOST OF AUSTRALIA
Above-average rainfall was recorded in many parts of the country in March, largely due to the influence of active monsoon bursts and weather systems that efficiently drew tropical moisture southward through tropical depressions and lows, including tropical cyclones Megan and Neville.
In Queensland, cities in the upper half of the state received above-average rainfall, while coastal areas also experienced increased rainfall, although not as significantly as northern regions.
The Northern Territory experienced significant rainfall due to Tropical Cyclone Megan.
While New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia saw above-average rainfall in certain areas, other parts of these states experienced below-average rainfall.
Tasmania was the only state with below-average overall humidity in March.