Western Downs, Burnett remain on flood watch as wild weather continues

Residents across the Western Downs and Burnett are being warned to stay vigilant, with wild weather expected to worsen this afternoon and into the evening, with storms and heavy falls likely.

After the tragic loss of two lives on the state’s coast, residents on the Western Downs and In the Burnett are being warned more wild weather is still to come.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued an update to its flood watch, warning flooding was possible from Thursday night as a trough continues to impact southeast Queensland.

A surface trough which brought incredible levels of rainfall on Wednesday morning has been sitting off the coast most of this morning, with BOM warning it could move and redevelop over the land later this afternoon.

“(It will) then remain slow-moving into Friday, producing periods of heavy rainfall with embedded thunderstorms,” BOM warned.

“Catchments are wet, and likely to respond quickly to further rainfall. Heavy and locally intense rainfall is expected across parts of the Flood Watch area.”

The Burnett and Conadmine catchments are likely to be affected, according to BOM.

An upper low will move slowly eastwards across southern Queensland through Thursday before rotating over the southeast on Friday, with BOM warning this will deepen the trough bringing the heavy rain to the region.

Saturating storms on ­Wednesday claimed the life of a 63-year-old woman swept away in a torrent of water on the Sunshine Coast.

And the body of a missing motorcyclist was found on Thursday morning after a full-scale air, water and land search at Cedar Pocket in the Gympie region.

The man was believed to be local husband and father of three Phil Lambert.

Schools were closed, roads were flooded and a train became derailed after more than 300mm fell in some parts of the region.

Kingaroy is expect to receive between 40mm and 80mm of rain today, with thunderstorms possible.

Dalby is expect to receive 20-4omm, as is Chinchilla.

BOM’s daily thunderstorm warning shows severe storms are possible across most of the Burnett and Western Downs districts.

⚠️⛈️ Thursday's Thunderstorm Forecast:
Severe storms likely about #SEQLD today with heavy rainfall, possibly intense at time, leading to flash flooding. Damaging winds also a risk. Possible severe storms in the Peninsula district today.
Updates: https://t.co/uTKNb1Y5gRpic.twitter.com/vpIBzuJkfP

— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) February 24, 2022

The rain event is predicted to last until Saturday lunchtime, with 72-hour rainfall totals expected to exceed 300mm across the board.

People living or working along rivers and creeks should monitor the latest weather forecasts and warnings.

Remember: If it’s flooded, forget it.

For flood emergency assistance contact the SES on 132 500.

For life threatening emergencies, call triple-0 immediately.