After weeks of rain, finally some good news for Christmas Day

After a long stretch of bleak weather in Brisbane that caused flooding, power outages and ruined a Test cricket match, the forecast for Christmas Day is for sunshine.

But the flood risk for summer is not over.

The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting sunshine every day until Christmas Day next Wednesday, which should be mostly sunny with a top of 29.

“Christmas Day in Queensland looks likely to be a warm day – hot inland,” senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said.

“Mostly dry and sunny weather is currently forecast across southern parts of the state, including the south-east, where there’s currently just a slight chance of a coastal shower.”

That comes after almost 60 millimetres in the 24 hours to 9am on Tuesday, and weeks of soggy weather, which caused flash flooding in south-east Queensland.

Seqwater began flood releases from Wivenhoe Dam on Tuesday, which increased from 8pm Wednesday. Combined with river and creek flows downstream, the releases inundated Kholo Crossing and Burtons Bridge, in addition to Savages Crossing, Colleges Crossing and Twins Bridges.

However, Brisbane River levels were expected to remain below minor flood level.

On Sunday, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner was warning Brisbane residents to prepare for potential flooding this summer.

“The ground is saturated from a wet month and that means there’s a real possibility of flash flooding, particularly in the rainfall exceeds predictions like it did in 2022,” he said.

“It only took three days for Brisbane to experience its worst-ever flood in 2022, and it could happen again.”

Already, more than 237mm of rain fell in Brisbane this November, double the monthly average.

The Bureau of Meteorology has indicated a 60 to 80 per cent chance of above-average rainfall between January and March 2025.

During the February 2022 flood, Brisbane received 676.66mm of rain in three days – more than the previous three-day record of 600.4mm from 1974.

Police have warned people not to play in or drive through flooded streets, after a 15-year-old boy was swept into a stormwater drain in Mareeba, in Queensland’s far north, on Tuesday.

He was found more than 200 metres away on another street after he re-emerged with minor injuries, including cuts and grazes.

More than 2000 properties were without power late on Wednesday as wet weather continued in the south-east.

Bradbury said wet weather was easing in the south-east from Wednesday night due to a southeasterly surge pushing up from NSW, but it would persist across northern and central parts of the Queensland coast with a low looming.

“We see a tropical low pressure starting to develop over the Cape York Peninsula,” she said.

“This system at this stage has only a low chance of becoming a tropical cyclone.”

Flood warnings remained for more than a dozen rivers and creeks in south-east, west and central Queensland, and more than 20 dams across the south-east were spilling.

with AAP