Ex-Cyclone Penny tipped to bring 200mm of rain and gale winds to Townsville coast this week

With Penny a moderate chance of whipping back into cyclone strength, Townsville is tipped for some decent rainfall this week.

CYCLONE Penny may have lost its steam, but Townsville’s chances for some decent rainfall is still quite high over the next week.

With ex-TC Penny likely to cross the coast between Townsville and Cairns as a tropical low sometime on Wednesday or Thursday, the Bureau of Meteorology says those to the south of the system will get the heaviest rain.

At 5pm, a severe weather warning was issued for damaging winds and heavy rainfall for people in parts of Herbert and Lower Burdekin districts.

Areas of heavy rainfall, which may lead to flash flooding, are expected to develop over the southern flank of the system from Monday evening.

Heavy rain should initially develop about coastal areas between Alva Beach and Sarina, and extend inland during Tuesday.

The Bureau says six hourly rainfall totals between 140mm and 180mm are possible, with isolated heavier falls in excess of 200mm possible.

Ex-Tropical #CyclonePenny in the Coral Sea is moving west, with gale force winds on the southern side. A severe weather warning and gale wind warnings are current. For the latest warnings: https://t.co/CQJkcamqzO. pic.twitter.com/Q3hhUbXPyy

— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) January 6, 2019

Meteorologist James Thompson said Townsville would start to see some showers and possible storms tomorrow onwards, with up to 75mm forecast until Thursday.

“Tuesday and Wednesday, even Thursday you have showers and possible storms as well forecast,” Mr Thompson said.

“Rainfall forecast ranges up to 40mm or so (daily), and there is the chance if the tropical low does approach closer to Townsville those rainfall numbers could be higher.

“There’s still a bit of uncertainty as to where it crosses the coast over the next few days; we’re expecting it to remain in the Coral Sea at least for the next few days.”

The bureau’s tropical cyclone outlook for the Coral Sea states although the system is currently not a tropical cyclone, there was still a risk the system would redevelop into a tropical cyclone over the western Coral Sea.

“Regardless of the systems status, gale force winds and heavy rainfall may still develop somewhere along the northeast tropical coast,” the outlook states.

The bureau has it as a 20-50% chance of the system re-intensifying into cyclone strength.

But Mr Thompson said the best case would be Townsville would receive some decent rainfall, with a gale warning also in place.

“A gale warning is issued when winds are likely to be above 34 knots, which is the case for offshore waters along the Townsville coast from (tonight),” he said.

Originally published as Ex-Cyclone Penny tipped to bring 200mm of rain and gale winds to Townsville coast this week