Queensland farmers hope Cyclone Trevor will deliver some drought relief
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Trevor has been downgraded to a tropical low but a flood warning has been issued for parts of Western Queensland as it tracks across the border.
QLD News
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EX-TROPICAL Cyclone Trevor has been downgraded to a tropical low but a flood warning has been issued for parts of Western Queensland as it tracks across the border.
The intensity has dropped to a tropical low, with sustained winds near the center of 55 kilometers per hour with wind gusts to 85 kilometers per hour.
A Bureau of Meteorology spokeswoman said the ex-cyclone had been downgraded to a tropical low on Sunday morning but could still impact Western Queensland area.
The spokeswoman said the tropical low would track down south to Queensland with most of the impact to be felt on Monday and Tuesday this week.
“On Tuesday and Wednesday heavy rainfall around Channel Country, as it tracks down there is a risk of heavy rainfall, showers and storms,” the spokeswoman said.
“Pockets of isolated falls that could reach up to 100-150mm on Monday and Tuesday.”
There is also a minor flood warning in place for Daintree River.
The flood watch area includes for Daintree to Kowanyama, the western Gulf Country and the Channel Country.
âš ï¸ A #Flood Watch has been issued for catchments in the Channel Country early next week due to heavy rainfall from ex-tropical #cycloneTrevor. Follow the advice of local emergency services @QldFES. Warnings will appear here https://t.co/DSYIVY5Sxy pic.twitter.com/lCoxJPAWMh
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) March 23, 2019
Heavy rainfall was forecast over parts of the western Gulf Country during the weekend, with heavy rainfall in the Channel Country early this week.
High river levels and flooding is expected to continue in the Cape during the weekend and into next week.
The Bureau of Meteorology said some of the heavy rainfall may affect the Gulf Country that were impacted by the monsoon flooding in early February.
However the flooding is not expected to be as prolonged or significant.
The bureau of meteorology are forecasting damaging and locally destructive winds, heavy rainfall and storms as a result of the tropical low.
They have forecast significantly high tides, above the normal average, to smash the Northern Territory and Queensland border and Port McArthur on Sunday morning.
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Meteorologist Lachlan Storey said the heaviest falls from the cyclone were expected regions not heavily impacted from the devastating February flooding, which wiped out hundreds of thousands of cattle.
Floodwaters last month stretched from Hughenden in the east to Cloncurry in the west, a distance of 400km, after about 600mm fell in the region in a fortnight, leaving a sea of dead cattle.
Mr Storey said yesterday the region affected by the significant flooding in February may receive some heavy rain as a result of Cyclone Trevor but nowhere near the deluge that hit them last month.
Tropical Cyclone Trevor located over land between Cape Crawford and the NT/Qld border has been downgraded to Category 2. Dangerous conditions will extend further inland during tonight. #CycloneTrevor https://t.co/rVLE6i5J4y pic.twitter.com/BLl7z5aEnw
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) March 23, 2019
“It’s possible those regions will get some rain from this system, and possibly heavy rain, but our best estimate is the heaviest rain will be further south than those flood-affected areas,” he said.
“Monday through to Wednesday is when we expect to see some significant rain in western Queensland. There’ll be individual places picking up the heaviest falls in the 80mm to 100mm range.
“In terms of the places that got rain in February, it will be much less that we’d be forecasting – more in the 10 to 20mm rainfall figures but higher figures are definitely possible.”
Mr Storey said some of Queensland’s drought-affected areas in the west should benefit from the dying stages of Cyclone Trevor.
“It will help, but I wouldn’t be saying it will be drought breaking,” he said. “The ground there is so dry, a lot of it is going to get soaked up in the soil. Hopefully, it is some useful rain and not anything devastating like we saw in February.”
A Queensland Health spokesman said the department was monitoring the weather forecast and the North West Hospital and Health Service had undertaken “preparedness activities” as a precaution.
He said the health service and the department remained on alert.
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