Coastal Storm to Renew Flooding in New South Wales, Queensland

By Eric Leister, Meteorologist

April 28,2015; 8:36PM,EDT

 

 

An area of low pressure will develop off the coast of southern Queensland from Wednesday into Thursday.
This storm system will bring rounds of rain from southeast Queensland through eastern New South Wales during the second half of the week.
Rain will fall heavily at times, especially in coastal areas from Brisbane to near Sydney. Some of these areas experienced flooding rainfall less than 10 days ago as 250-500 mm (10-20 inches) of rain fell over a several day period.
While this storm will take a similar track and impact many of the same areas, one big difference is that the widespread damaging winds that accompanied the first storm will not be common this time.
This will greatly limit the thread for power outages, after the previous storm resulted in more than 200,000 homes to be without power at some point during the event.
While damaging winds are not expected to be a widespread problem, heavy rain will once again result in an elevated risk for flooding. Rainfall will average 25-75 mm from near and north of Sydney to Brisbane with localized amounts in excess of 150 mm (6 inches) possible. This amount of rain falling in a short time period can cause flash flooding, especially on small streams and in urban areas.

The heaviest rain will fall across southeast Queensland on Thursday and Friday, including Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
The worst of the storm will then shift farther south Friday night and Saturday as torrential rain falls along the northern coastline of New South Wales. Sydney will be spared the worst of the storm; however, downpours are still expected Saturday into Saturday night.
RELATED:
Storms Threaten Nepal Earthquake Survivors Seeking Shelter in Tents
Australia Weather Center
Interactive Australia Weather Satellite
As the storm continues to move southward, the heaviest rain will shift off the coast by Sunday; however, rivers will likely remain high resulting in dangerous conditions across parts of eastern New South Wales.