Widespread rainfall recorded across South Australia
SOUTH Australia’s stormy autumn weather has delivered more welcome rain with widespread falls recorded across the state — pushing March’s rainfall past the city’s monthly average.
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- FUN IN THE WET: Stranded Outback tourists roll with the flow
- FORECAST: Outlook for rest of week
- CLIPSAL 500: Rain causes race day chaos
- GIANT WEDGIE: Glenelg inflatable swept away
SOUTH Australia’s stormy autumn weather has delivered more welcome rain with widespread falls recorded across the state.
Adelaide received 18.6mm of rain between 8.30pm on Wednesday and 5am on Thursday — the second downpour within a week.
The city has now recorded 40.4mm of rain so far this month. The average rainfall for March is 26.4mm.
The Bureau of Meteorology says Adelaide has received 2.4mm since 9am, and hit a top of 29.0C at 5.03pm. A possible storm is forecast for tomorrow with a top of 31C.
Another severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for tonight, for the north-east and north-west pastoral districts for heavy rainfall.
The Animal Welfare League shelter at Wingfield was closed for safety reasons while its carpark was flooded.
Spokeswoman Alexandra Stopford said the water did not get to the building and all animals were safe.
“We came in this morning and the water reached above ankle height, about four to five inches,” she said.
“We had our own makeshift pump but it was nothing like the industrial pump the SES had.”
The shelter would re-open after the water was drained.
Across the state, significant rain was also recorded at Kadina (40.4mm), Cleve Airport (36.6mm), Nuriootpa (27.6mm), Pallamana (26mm), Marree Airport (25.6mm) and Roseworthy (24.6mm).
Bute received 77.5mm - its wettest day since 1974, and Tarlee 50mm. Sutherland had 65mm, its wettest day since 2010.
However, much of Eyre Peninsula and the South-East missed out with Whyalla (8.6mm) and Keith West (9.8mm) among the towns in each region with the highest falls.
The bureau’s senior forecaster, Tom Boeck, said the unusual and sustained tropical air mass coming down from Northern Territory and Queensland would deliver more rain to the state and continue on into early next week.
“It’s certainly unusual to have this length of humid tropical weather in early March”
SA has had several heavy downpours this year — not what you would expect for this time of year.
On Wednesday, overseas tourists in South Australia’s north were stranded by the state’s unusual tropical storms.
Up to 80mm of rain had fallen in the outback in 24 hours, causing creeks to run for the first time in years and roads to be closed across the region.
Earlier this week, wet weather caused chaos for Clipsal 500 on the final day.
From 3pm until 4.45pm on Sunday, the Bureau of Meteorology’s Kent Town weather station received 8.6mm of rain, and then up until 5pm, another 9mm was dumped by the storm. In total, it received 22mm during the day.
There were also wind gusts of up to 41km/h and thousands of homes across the city, suburbs and regional areas were without power for hours.
The Clipsal 500 was suspended briefly after the safety car had already led the drivers around the track during the worst of the rain. Adelaide driver Nick Percat eventually won the race under very slippery conditions.
Early last month record-breaking rain caused chaos across the state as the CBD’s dilapidated, archaic courthouse and judges’ chambers flooding.
Bucketing rain rolled in from the city after the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Stan moved across the state overnight.
The wet weather broke several records across the state, with Coffin Bay experiencing its wettest day on record, with 75.8mm of rain.
And in January, the Big Wedgie giant inflatable waterslide at Glenelg broke its moorings and blown away as a huge storm swept over Adelaide.