Three August’s worth of rain have now fallen on NSW with more to come
Forecasters have warned flooding is now a real danger as the drenching continues and a month’s worth of rain could fall in the next 36 hours.
Sydney could receive its entire average monthly rainfall for August on just Thursday and Friday as the incessant downpours continue.
Two men are missing in the weather chaos after a car crashed into a river in northern Sydney on Wednesday night.
Brisbane and the Gold Coast could also be hit with Perth set to see downpours on the weekend.
Already three times August’s usual rainfall has come down since the start of the month making it the wettest August for 27 years.
Over the coming two days some isolated areas on the east coast could see in excess of 150mm of rain with 60 to 120mm likely across swathes of New South Wales.
Drier conditions are on the horizon which should make the weekend less of a chore. But so much rain has fallen that flooding is now on the cards.
“These rainfall accumulations over the next two to three days are going to have an impact, and it’s for that reason, that we’ve issued widespread flood watches across NSW,” said the Bureau of Meteorology’s Miriam Bradbury.
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The cause of the never-ending soggy story is above average sea surface temperatures on the east coast.
A high pressure system is dragging that moisture laden air towards the coast where it is interacting with a trough.
According to website Weatherzone, Sydney has received 262.8mm of rain so far this month which is triple its usual August precipitation.
That’s all the more extraordinary when you consider August is usually the city’s fourth driest month.
During an average August just shy of 80mm of rain falls on the CBD. It’s possible that level of rain could drench Sydney on Thursday and Friday alone.
Sky News Australia meteorologist Alison Osborne has said Sydney has already seen enough rainfall this month to make it its wettest August in 27 years, that’s since 1998.
In the past 24 hours much of NSW has seen a drenching. Ballina, in the state’s north, has seen 67.2mm of rain since 9am on Wednesday, Port Macquarie 85.8mm and Sydney’s CBD 65mm.
And for the NSW coast, those conditions will continue on Thursday and into Friday.
Month’s worth of rain possible in Sydney
In Sydney on Thursday between 30-70mm of rain can be expected with a possible thunderstorm. Temperatures will top out at 18C in the city.
On Friday, the showers will ease with up to 10mm falling. It will be the same for Saturday followed by several drier days.
Newcastle could record up to 50mm in the gauge on Thursday, Wollongong as high as 70mm, Port Macquarie 90mm, Grafton 70mm, Glenn Innes 35mm, and Byron Bay up to 60mm.
Rain can be expected along the south coast but it will be less intense with perhaps up to 20mm on Thursday.
Much of the moisture will be focused on the coast on Thursday with inland NSW seeing conditions ease.
Dubbo, for instance, might see between 1-8mm with barely a drop in Wagga Wagga.
Showers will tail off in Canberra with between 1-6mm falling on a 15C high day on Thursday.
Two men missing
Emergency services are hunting for two men in the heavy rain after a car crashed into a river in northern Sydney on Wednesday night.
They were called about 11:50pm to the Macdonald River, near Settlers Road, St Albans, about 20 kilometres north of Wisemans Ferry, following reports a car had entered the river.
Officers attached to Hawkesbury Police Area Command found that a car had crashed into the river before one passenger exited the vehicle and reached the riverbank.
The man, in his 20s, was assessed by paramedics at the scene but did not require further treatment.
Police have been told two other men were in the car at the time and are yet to be accounted for.
The State Emergency Service (SES) and NSW Rural Fire Service have been involved in the search for the two men.
Flooding concerns
The BOM has warned that with all the moisture already saturating the ground, flooding is now a real possibility.
“Minor to isolated major flooding is likely along the north west slopes from Thursday morning,” it stated in an update.
Minor to moderate flooding is possible along the mid north coast, Hunter and Nepean waterways from later on Thursdays.
The Gwydir and Namoi rivers, in northern NSW, are at particular risk of major flooding.
Rain for Brisbane, Gold Coast
In Brisbane, between 7 and 40mm could come down on Thursday with up to 10mm on Friday but with a drier weekend expected. Temperatures of around 22C are forecast.
The Gold Coast will be harder hit with up to 60mm on Thursday and 20mm on Friday.
Toowoomba is looking at up to 25mm on Thursday but it will drier further west in the state.
Bundaberg will see some showers, not as intense as further south, on Thursday. Central and northern coastal areas of Queensland should miss the rain.
Aside from coastal areas near the NSW border, Victoria should remain mainly dry. Thursday in Melbourne will see a high of 20C and low of 4C with mostly sunny conditions. Similar weather for the weekend but with the possibility of a light shower.
A bright and sunny day in Hobart on Thursday with a maximum temperature of 18C leading into a mostly dry weekend.
Partly cloudy conditions in Adelaide with a high of 20C with more or less a rinse and repeat weather pattern for the following days.
In Western Australia, wet conditions are in store but not for the next few days.
Perth could see a shower on Thursday but the rainfall total will be negligible. The city will see a high of 18C and a low of 9C.
Dry on Friday, the possibility of a showers on Saturday and then potentially up to 30mm on Sunday coinciding with thunderstorms.
Some showers in Exmouth and a high of 25C on Friday, 29C and sunny in Broome.
Lots of sun in Darwin with highs of 33C.
Originally published as Three August’s worth of rain have now fallen on NSW with more to come
