Qld weather: Heavy rain hits Gold Coast and Cairns regions after outback cops a drenching
Sunshine is set to return to Queensland with heavy rain that sparked flash flooding and prompted two dramatic rescues set to ease. But the Bureau warns it won’t stay dry for long.
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Many Queenslanders will be mopping up and drying out this weekend after parts of the state were hit with more than a month’s rain in just 24 hours.
Two men left clinging to trees amid swirling floodwaters after their vehicles were swept into the river on the same road 12 hours apart were plucked to safety in dramatic rescues on the Western Downs.
It came as major events including the Australian PGA golf championship at Royal Brisbane and Saturday’s Tatersall’s race meeting at Doomben were called off as heavy rain pummelled the region.
The southern Gold Coast was hardest hit, with 167mm tumbling at Tugun, 154.8mm at Coolangatta, 149mm at Palm Beach and 145mm in the Currumbin Valley overnight on Thursday.
The deluge easily eclipsed Coolangatta’s average November rainfall of 121mm and brought the total for the month in the Queensland-NSW border suburb to more than 335mm.
At Moonie on the Western Downs, two men had to be rescued after their vehicles were swept off Green and Whites Rd into the Moonie River in separate dramas on Friday.
More than 75mm of rain fell at Redcliffe, most of it in the space of three hours from 5am on Friday.
Maranoa region farmer Callum Crozier said he was grateful for the wet weather.
His property, Beverly Hills, in Mitchell has seen consistent rainfall in the last three days, causing slight flooding in the paddocks around his property.
“We have a creek running through our place and it is all pretty full now,” Mr Crozier said.
“We have had really good steady rain – nothing crazy. We are just very grateful we didn’t get any of that ridiculous rain like out in Charleville.
“It has been a bit of a relief because it was starting to get very dry. So it’s good to get that rain.”
His daughter Airlie Rose Crozier, 2, has also been making the most of the wet weather.
“She had a few days off from daycare during the wet because I wasn’t working. I had her with me for a few days, so she enjoyed that,” he said.
“She’s a little character – she thought it was nice to see all the water out in the paddock.”
The deluge came after the Charleville area was hit by up to 185mm of rain on Thursday.
Torrential rain also fell in the state’s north, with Mission Beach receiving 188mm in the 20 hours to 6am on Friday, while nearby Bulgin Creek (135mm) and Tully (120mm) also received big totals.
Heavy rain in the South East is expected to break to showers on Saturday with mainly fine weather forecast for Brisbane on Sunday ahead of sunshine and warmer temperatures for the beginning of the week.
The clear skies may be short lived though as a significant trough from the west could see the rain return to South East Queensland from the middle of next week.
How did Brisbane cope?
Dozens of cars were inundated with water after a creek in Rocklea began to overflow on Friday afternoon.
The flooding saw staff at a nearby mechanic service spend hours driving cars out of the water.
Multiple cars were towed out of the water after they would not start.
Staff from Billiards Blitz, a store next door, rushed to free their cars from the water.
Owner Steve Day said their store had been flooded in 2022 and was concerned more rain over the coming days could see the store flooded again.
“The creek has been full for most of the afternoon and it just came up quickly- within 15 minutes,” Mr Day said.
“Once the creek overflows, the water comes into the car park behind the building.
“Fortunately it isn’t coming into the building yet, we haven’t had as much rain as previously. But it is concerning.
“We got flooded here in 2022 and that was a lot of rain – we had 2.8 meters of water through our building and we lost everything.
“So, you know, the stress levels and anxiety get pretty high every time it rains, every time that water comes up.”
Further west, the Ipswich region saw major roads covered by water.
Haigslea-Amberley Road in Walloon had been completely closed off to all traffic with motorists advised not to drive through the water.
In Haigslea, Linnings Road, Haigslea-Malabar Road, and Claus Road were also affected by flash flooding.
Were there floodwater rescues?
A second man was dramatically rescued from a tree after his vehicle was swept into raging floodwaters on the Darling Downs near the same spot where another motorist had to be plucked to safety.
The latest rescue happened on Green and Whites Rd at Moonie just after 1pm on Friday.
Emergency services said the man was left clinging to a tree after his vehicle was swept into the Moonie River.
Swiftwater rescue teams rushed to the scene but he was plucked to safety by locals and was being assessed by paramedics.
It followed the rescue of another man whose car was washed into the river on the same road about 1am on Friday.
He was rescued by swiftwater crews and taken by ambulance to Tara Hospital in a stable condition.
Meanwhile multiple events were cancelled or delayed as heavy rain continued to fall on South East Queensland, almost tripling the monthly average for November in some parts.
Almost 170mm of rain has fallen on the Gold Coast overnight, causing widespread flash flooding and road closures, with more rain still to come.
Heavy rain has continued to drench parts of Queensland, with both ends of the state copping significant totals overnight, while a dramatic rescue has played out on the Darling Downs.
What’s been cancelled?
The Australian PGA Championship was officially abandoned for the day just after 11.30am on Friday after officials inspected Royal Queensland golf course in Brisbane and deemed the course was too waterlogged for play.
The start of the second round had earlier been delayed by five hours until 11am.
The entire event has been reduced to 54 holes from 72 as a result.
Saturday’s Tattersall’s Racing Club race meet at Doomben has been cancelled due to the heavy rain.
Unfortunately tomorrow’s Listed Tattersall’s meeting has been rescheduled due to ongoing heavy rainfall…
— Brisbane Racing Club (@BrisRacingClub) November 22, 2024
Please follow @Racing_QLD + the BRC’s social channels for further updates https://t.co/ec0AqdAV7H
What are the rainfall totals?
The Gold Coast has been smashed with over a month’s worth of rain overnight, causing flash flooding and closing multiple roads across the city.
A total of 167mm fell overnight at Tugun, 145mm at Currumbin Valley, 154.8mm at Coolangatta, 149mm at Palm Beach and 73.8mm at Redcliffe.
Coolangatta has now almost tripled its November rainfall average, Weatherzone says, while Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary has been forced to close due to the heavy rainfall and local dams are spilling.
Several roads were awash on Friday morning, especially in southern parts of the city, with swift water crossing low-lying roads, as over 50mm fell inside two hours in the early hours of this morning.
The 154.88mm recorded in the 24 hours up to 9am this morning, has resulted in the region recording 336mm for this month, which is almost three times the November monthly average of 120.7mm.
Have there been power outages?
South of Brisbane, thousands of people have been impacted by power outages.
According to Energex, 1,416 customers are without power in the Redland City area.
The power outage has also impacted several traffic lights in the area, with Queensland Police advising motorists to exercise caution and drive to the conditions. Energex spokesman Danny Donald said the power outage in the City of Redland was caused by a tree that had reportedly impacted a main.
“We are responding to reports of a tree on mains on Boundary Rd at Thornlands,” Mr Donald said.
“Crews are there now getting that sorted.
“We’ve got a smaller outage on the Gold Coast with trees that have brought down 11,000 volt power lines.”
What does it mean for dams?
SEQWater has advised that the wet weather has also resulted in several dams spilling excess water, including Gold Creek Dam at Brookfield and Little Nerang Dam on the Gold Coast.
More than 70mm of rain was recorded in three hours from 5am at Redcliffe on Friday, as suburbs closer to Brisbane also got their share, with more heavy rain on the way for the South East.
The rainfall in Redcliffe has caused roads and pathways leading to the Redcliffe Leagues Padres Baseball Club to flood, which has seen the club put out a public call out for a generator to drain standing water off the club’s fields.
Since 9am on Friday, 15mm of rain has been recorded at Bulimba, with 10mm recorded at Bowen Hills, and 7mm in Brisbane City.
North of the city in Moreton Bay, 19mm has fallen at Lawnton, 17mm at Woody Point, and 12mm at Redcliffe.
How have the regions fared?
The Sunshine Coast has also recorded more than 10mm in the 60 minutes to 10.45, with 13mm at Landsborough, 12mm at Beerwah, and 11mm at Ewen Maddock Dam.
Elsewhere in Queensland, the Lesdale weather station, just out of Charleville, received a whopping 185mm in the 24-hours to 9am Thursday, while Charleville itself copped a 92.8mm soaking, which is in excess of its November monthly average in a day.
In the state’s far north, South Mission Beach received a whopping 188mm in the 20 hours to 6am, while nearby Bulgin Creek (135mm) and Tully (120mm) also received decent totals.
■ GALLERY: Qld’s wet and wild November
Meanwhile, at Moonie, near Tara, on the Western Downs, a man in his 60s had to be rescued from a tree in floodwaters overnight, as the State Emergency Service responding to 18 call-outs across the state overnight.
It comes after western Queensland endure a “one-in-50-year” flooding event that delivered 153mm of rain in just two hours.
Rural Fire Service (RFS) and Queensland Fire Department (QFD) crews worked for hours to rescue the man in his 60s after he became isolated on a tree branch in floodwater on Green and Whites Road.
An RFS volunteer initially spotted him about 1.22am, but it took more than two hours to rescue him, with crews finally getting him down about 4am.
He was transported in a stable condition to Tara Hospital with reports of back pain.
Thunderstorms are forecast for a large portion of Queensland’s east and northern regions on Friday.
What is the BOM forecast?
In an updated flood warning for the Upper Balonne River, BOM advised that minor flooding is currently occurring along the Upper Balonne River at Warkon and Surat.
“River level rises have been observed along Dogwood Creek and the upper Balonne River, where minor flooding is occurring at Warkon and Surat,” the warning read.
“The Balonne River at Warkon was at 7.34m at 8am Friday and rising, above the minor flood level (7m).
“The Balonne River at Warkon may reach around 7.80m during Saturday, with minor flooding.”
In the South East, Mr Hines said the wet weather was expected to clear by Friday night, “paying the way for a pleasant weekend”.
He said the Gold Coast can expect temperatures of up to 29C over the weekend.
On Thursday, shocked locals on Thursday described the torrential downpour that flooded outback Queensland as the “whole of November’s rainfall in just one hour”, after the Bureau of Meteorology had warned parts of Queensland to brace for isolated totals of up to 200mm possible.
Many regional areas were hit with unprecedented rain, with floodwaters cutting off towns, farms and roads.
Flash flooding occurred in Charleville, and surrounding areas were drenched by rainfall on Wednesday, as a trough system intensified over the Upper Warrego catchment, resulting in moderate to isolated intense heavy rainfall more than 150mm recorded up to 6pm on Wednesday.
At one point, up to 68mm of rain fell in one hour on Wednesday afternoon.
The highest rainfall totals in the area was recorded at Lesdale with 184mm, Oakwood with 144mm, Dresnmaine with 120mm, Barradeen with 110mm, and the 27 Mile Garden with 100mm, with Charleville recording 91mm.
Originally published as Qld weather: Heavy rain hits Gold Coast and Cairns regions after outback cops a drenching
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