Heaviest rainfall in over two decades hits Townsville

Dust off your raincoats and don’t forget your umbrella, the Townsville region has been lashed by rain and experts say more is on the way.

Wet weather washed out an event on Flinders St on Saturday.

Townsville’s wet and wild weather is set to continue, with more heavy rainfalls all but certain to lash the region after a soaked weekend.

North Queensland is in the midst of a wetter than average November, according to experts at the Bureau of Meteorology.

Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Livio Regano told News Corp the total rainfall dropped on Townsville across Sunday had tripled the month’s average rainfall for the tropical region.

Sky News Meteorologist Rob Sharpe said Townsville recorded its heaviest rainfall for November in 22 years.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s rainfall measuring station in Vincent tallied up 80mm of rain between 9am on Sunday and 6am on Monday, November 28 to close out the weekend.

Pallarenda copped 53mm recorded, and Kirwan noted 75mm across the same time period.

The city’s inner suburbs weren’t spared either, with Townsville Airport’s measuring station recording a further 72mm of rain across the 24-hour period.

Previously, in the 24 hours from 9am Saturday to 9am Sunday, the Townsville airport gage recorded 95mm of rain.

In the city, 79.6mm was recorded, while Nelly Bay topped 75mm, and 109mm at the Bohle.

The highest recorded rainfall was 121mm at Saunders Creek.

Ingham recorded 100mm of rainfall on Saturday.

Dark clouds and rain close in on the Port of Townsville on Saturday.

The ongoing wet weather comes after a wet week in the region, with residents waking up to flooding in some areas on Wednesday after more than 40mm of rain fell in the area in two hours.

The chaos caused by Monday night’s storms extended to flights, with one Virgin Australia passenger slamming the airline over their alleged handling of a flight detour to Cairns which left some passengers stranded and sleeping on the terminal floor.

A Currajong woman also claimed she was shocked after turning off the power switch at her home during the storm.

Meteorologist with the Bureau, Pieter Claassen, said the rainfall pattern was part of a wetter than average November for Townsville, with a total 216mm recorded this month so far.

“We are seeing increased weather patterns in North Queensland, consistent with monsoon-like condition, and it’s quite early that we are seeing that kind of pattern,” Mr Claassen said.

He said more storms and showers forecast for this week from Tuesday could see a risk of some areas being impacted by flash flooding.

“There is definitely a risk of seeing some localised flash flooding in the region with some of those heavier showers and storms …,” he said.

Showers and possible storms are forecast from Monday to Thursday for Townsville, Ayr and Charters Towers.

Originally published as Heaviest rainfall in over two decades hits Townsville