Dry winter forecast for Queensland after record-breaking April rains

Australia Broadcast Center

06-05-2025

Queensland can expect a drier-than-average winter after a sodden start to 2025, with parts of the state recording their wettest April on record.
The wet conditions are forecast to ease this month, with below-average rainfall expected for June, Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) climatologist Caitlin Minney said.
"For all of Australia, including Queensland, it's likely — or very likely — to be drier than average in May," Ms Minney said.
Decades-long trend
The record-breaking rainfall that preceded the dry is part of a broader trend in northern Australia over the past 30 years, she said.
April rainfall was above average for most of the state, and the highest on record in some parts.
"Particularly across northern Queensland, rainfall during the wet season has increased by around 20 per cent," Ms Minney said.
"This is usually due to changes in overall synoptic systems and the impacts of a warming climate."
Rainfall totals were above average across Queensland in April.
(
ABC News: Liz Pickering
)
Brisbane recorded 156.8 millimetres of rain in April, more than 2.5 times its monthly average.
Just north of Brisbane, Redcliffe recorded 260.6mm, its highest April total ever and more than triple the average.
Redcliffe also recorded its highest daily rainfall total for April, with nearly 100mm falling on April 13.
Meanwhile the Carpentaria region received four times its monthly average rainfall.
Parts of western Queensland were drenched by rain in March leading to flooding.
(
Supplied: Eric Beresford
)
The above-average rainfall in April followed devastating floods in parts of western Queensland, contributing to the wettest March across the state since 2011 — the third wettest on record.
Many areas across Queensland also recorded their highest daily rainfall totals on record in March as Tropical Cyclone Alfred approached the coast.
Brisbane recorded 275.2mm on March 10, doubling the previous record set in 2001.