Wild spring weather continues to hit as authorities monitor flood risks

Australians are battling their way through a wild and wet start to spring, with flood risks remaining in several areas.

Rain-affected parts of NSW and Victoria will continue to cop a drenching this week, with a “widespread storm event” threatening already flood-affected areas.

A low-pressure system is expected to move across Victoria and NSW over the next four days, bringing with it plenty of stormy weather, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Sky News meteorologist Alison Osbourne says it will be “wet across Victoria” while NSW and Queensland’s east can expect stormy weather on Tuesday.

“Storms may be severe across a broad area during the day, with the triple threat we generally start seeing in spring of damaging winds, large hailstones … as well as isolated but heavy rainfall that can lead to flash flooding,” Ms Osbourne said.

The Namoi River at Gunnedah, NSW over the weekend. Picture: NSW SES

The BOM expects the worst of the storms to affect the NSW south coast, with up to 50mm expected to fall in some parts of the state.

Sydney and Melbourne will not be spared the downpour, however, with up to 15mm expected to fall in each city across Tuesday and Wednesday.

Flood-affected communities are being warned the wet weather could prolong the crisis in the coming days.

Though the storm event will hit the east coast on Tuesday, NSW, Victorian and Queensland residents can expect the wet weather to stick around until Thursday.

“By Thursday, a southerly surge rolling up the NSW coast will maintain the cold and wet weather,” Ms Osbourne said.

Waterfalls on the spillway as Dartmouth Dam tips over! pic.twitter.com/eFSTbz5vQW

— Katherine Smyrk (@KSmyrk) September 22, 2022

NSW State Emergency Services (SES) has warned residents in the northwest, Central West, and also some areas in the southeast to be on alert for potential flooding.

While the rain is expected to ease compared with last week, those areas have been hit with prolonged falls, putting them at a greater risk of floods.

A trough is moving through the Central West before heading eastwards on Monday, meaning the flood threat is still present in those regions.

“Showers and thunderstorms will develop in the state’s southwest today and move east over coming days,” the Bureau of Meteorology said.

“Although rainfall totals this week aren’t expected to be high, renewed river rises are possible.”

Current temperatures and radar for #NSW, showers and thunderstorms will develop in the state's southwest today and move east over coming days. Although rainfall totals this week aren't expected to be high, renewed river rises are possible.
Monitor: https://t.co/REl2VBlGnApic.twitter.com/IKeFdWgRJd

— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) September 25, 2022

The bureau has issued varying levels of flood warning for 22 rivers across NSW, while major flooding is expected to continue at Wee Waa through to the end of the week.

Floodwaters tragically claimed the life of five-year-old Jayden El Jer over the weekend after he was swept up in his family’s car at the Genaren Creek crossing near Tullamore.

The rain has also caused the water levels in Murray Darling Basin dams to rise.

It caused the largest dam in that system, Dartmouth, to spill for the first time in more than 20 years last week.

“That’s indicative of the very full nature of the Murray Darling system that spreads from northern Victoria all the way through inland NSW to southern parts of Queensland and then eventually flows out into the South Australian coastline,” Mr Sharpe said.

Stormy weather could be coming to eastern parts of the country. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

Stormy weather has also been forecast to build over inland Queensland and northeast NSW as part of this week’s other weather event.

These storms are also expected to hit Tropical Queensland, Central Australia and Darwin as part of the hot and humid conditions.

Mr Sharpe said spring rainfall records could then be broken for parts of Western Australia when the event approaches the state.

“After that, the moisture looks to really get going in northern parts of Western Australia. We could see some records broken for springtime with this kind of event, with heavy rainfall quite exceptional for this time of the year,” he said.

“It‘s early in this forecast for sure, we’re talking about eight or nine days away from now, but there are indications that it could be a significant event taking shape in the east of the country.”