Qld weather: Ex-Tropical Cyclone Dianne to bring widespread rainfall to South East Queensland

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Dianne will lash South East Queensland with heavy rainfall on Wednesday, but will the clouds clear in time for the school holidays?

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Dianne is likely to bring a deluge of rainfall to South East Queensland on Wednesday after its impending arrival this afternoon.

Senior Meteorologist Angus Hines said the weather system was expected to bring heavy falls across the state, with parts of South East Queensland likely to receive more than 50mm.

“As for South East Queensland, the likes of Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, there are certainly a couple of wet days in store,” he said.

“Particularly Wednesday definitely could see around 50mm there.”

A small white sedan caught out in flood waters on Yandina-Bli Bli Road on the Sunshine Coast. Picture: Patrick Woods.

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Dianne made landfall north east of Broome on Saturday morning, before it moved through the Kimberley and weakened.

The cloud associated with the remnants of Dianne caused heavy rain to over Central Australia on Monday and is continuing to head east as it breaks up.

“The only saving grace with Ex-Tropical Cyclone Dianne is that it’s moving through pretty quickly, meaning it doesn’t linger in one place for too long, crossing the whole of Queensland in about 24 hours,” Mr Hines said.

“This means it won’t rain for days and days like it did last week, but over approximately 12 hours, many places could get moderate to heavy rainfall.

“This extra rainfall could push out flooding for another couple of days, potentially meaning we see flood warnings for eastern rivers out through until about the end of the week.”

Mr Hines added that inland parts of southern Queensland could see falls over 100mm.

“In some spots, these totals will be higher, with the chance of triple digit rainfall totals for inland parts of the south east and southern Queensland, especially on Wednesday,” he said.

“The Scenic Rim, the Locker Valley, and the Darling Downs through the southern interior of the state, could see some of those higher falls.”

Mr Hines said while it was expected to rain over the coming days, the wet weather was likely to clear by the first day of the school holidays on Saturday.

“The worst of the rain is on Wednesday and then it will gradually ease over the next couple of days after that,” he said.

“During Thursday we will likely see the rainfall intensity really wind down, but certainly some further showers remain possible throughout the day.

“On Friday, we are likely to see a few showers across the south east, but with a new area of high pressure kicking in, we should be seeing some dry and sunny weather for the weekend.”

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Dianne will bring widespread rainfall to South East Queensland on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the state government has appointed Order of Australia recipient Stuart Mackenzie as State Recovery Coordinator in the wake of the devastating floods in western Queensland.

The lifetime grazier and past Councillor, Deputy Mayor and Mayor of the Quilpie Shire Council is expected to provide local expertise to recovery efforts.

Queensland Police chief superintendent Troy Pukallus has been appointed Mr Mackenzie’s deputy

Both Mr Pukallus and Mr Mackenzie will work closely with the Queensland Reconstruction Authority to direct recovery efforts in the wake of the once-in-a-generation flooding and lead the development of a State Recovery Plan.

Premier David Crisafulli said both co-ordinators would ensure affected communities recovered as quickly as possible.

“Many people in western Queensland have lost everything and these appointments make sure they get the local support needed to guarantee there is no daylight between response and recovery,” Mr Crisafulli said.

“With Stuart Mackenzie OAM and Chief Superintendent Troy Pukallus leading recovery efforts, we have appointed two people with decades of experience who know and understand what locals need best.”

It comes as federal Labor on Tuesday matched the Coalition’s promise of a much-needed weather radar.

The Albanese government confirmed late on Tuesday it would invest $10m for a weather radar requested by Quilpie Mayor Ben Hall.

The Coalition had promised funds on Monday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was “determined to support Queensland”.

“These are tough times but Queenslanders are tougher,” he said.

“We’ve got their backs right now, and will have it during the recovery and as they prepare for future floods.”

Originally published as Qld weather: Ex-Tropical Cyclone Dianne to bring widespread rainfall to South East Queensland