Gushing waterfalls as massive dumping of rain falls on Uluru national park

Rare scenes spotted in the outback have been described as ‘rare and magical’ as tourists flock to see the unique weather event.

So much rain fell on Uluru on Tuesday night that one of the viewing platforms was almost underwater. Picture: Parks Australia/Ranger Meegan

A dumping of rain has created a “rare and magical” waterfall scene in the Northern Territory’s Uluru and Kata Tjuta national park overnight.

More than 22mm of rain fell on the popular outback destination, causing rock holes to overflow and gushing waterfalls down the sides of Uluru and Kaṉtju Gorge.

“While that doesn’t sound like much, the annual average rainfall is just under 300mm,” Parks Australia said via the reserve’s Facebook account.

More than 22mm of rain fell, causing rock holes to overflow and gushing waterfalls down the sides of Uluru and Kaṉtju Gorge. Picture: Parks Australia/Ranger Meegan

It mentioned locals and tourists had braved the wet conditions to catch a glimpse of the “unique weather event”.

“With a hot summer ahead, the rain is welcome and locals are hoping for more of it over the coming months,” the post continued.

So much water had flowed down to Kaṉtju Gorge that the viewing platform was almost underwater, the post read.

The waterfalls streaming down the gorge also sparked the burrowing frogs to come out of hiding.

“After 22mm of rain overnight, these noisy creatures which sound like sheep are in frog heaven,” the post read.

“For most of the year these frogs are underground, avoiding hot and dry conditions. They emerge after rain to breed, feed and return underground to evade perishing in the harsh weather conditions.

“They call profusely after enough rain has fallen to entice them from their burrows.”

More than 22mm of rain has brought Kaṉtju Gorge to life. Picture: Parks Australia/Ranger Meegan

The rain comes amid scorching temperatures in the NT and Queensland in October, with meteorologists reporting a two-degree increase in average temperatures.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, October was hotter than usual for Australia as a whole, with every state except Victoria noticing significantly warmer-than-average weather.

Queensland experienced its fourth-warmest October ever, with an average increase of 2.12 degrees.

The NT experienced an increase of 2.11 degrees, its third-warmest October on record.

Darwin sweated through its warmest-ever October night on record on the 20th, reaching 26.6C, while Brisbane recorded its hottest October day since 2004, with a top of 36.6C on October 4.