Brace yourself for a soaking: “More than a month’s rain in 36 hours”
In the past few weeks, parts of Australia have seen heat records broken as the mercury soared into the 30s across the country. But we’re about to pay a price for what was one of the hottest November months in Australia’s history.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a warning of a “very, very big weather event” bringing “major rain and flood[s]” across the entire state of Victoria, urging residents in the state’s northeast to prepare for up to 300mm of rain in just a few days.
Flash flooding is also likely in Melbourne, which will see up to 150mm of rain over Friday and Saturday, while storms are predicted in the far west later today and may make their way across the state.
BOM are calling it “most significant rain event for many years”. According to senior meteorologist Scott Williams, “We could see six-hourly rain rates of over 100mm over several parts of the state, stretching from the Grampians and Horsham in the west to the northeast and ultimately Melbourne.
Severe Weather Warning for heavy rainfall has been issued for the whole of #Victoria. Heavy rainfall expected to start in the far west Thursday night, extending across the State during Friday and Saturday. Check the details and other warnings at https://t.co/ipm9yXcTlp pic.twitter.com/yqPMlCcTUs
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) November 29, 2017
The outlook isn’t much better for NSW, parts of which can expect to see “more than a month’s rain in 36 hours”.
More than a months rain forecast in 36 hours in some areas to start our summer. Check the #forecast at https://t.co/SrkQxr8aaY pic.twitter.com/gb9i8dBbYt
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) November 29, 2017
“This is a huge week of weather,” Sky News meteorologist Tom Saunders said. “Before the rain arrives, southeast Australia is ending one of the hottest Novembers on record with another spell of extreme heat.”
Meanwhile, Adelaide suffered through almost 40-degree heat yesterday (its hottest day since March) and Hobart is expecting to hit 33 today – its hottest day in two years.
Brisbane, too, could see rain of up to 100mm, 30mm of which could fall today alone. Rain is expected to continue over the weekend and may worsen as storms move through on Sunday and Monday.
Darwin will reach 34-35 degrees as we enter the weekend, with expected rainfall of up to 60mm. As for Perth residents, you’re in for a gorgeous summer weekend with less than 5mm of rain predicted and temperatures from 25 to 36 degrees.