Flood warnings extended as prolonged rainfall smashes three states
NSW and Queensland residents are set for a punishing Wednesday and Thursday, with rainfall totals forecast to nudge triple digits across the two days.
'Large patches on the NSW east coast will continue to receive that prolonged rainfall, particularly around the Northern Rivers and Mid North Coast area, as well as Sydney and the Illawarra,' Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Angus Hines said.
'This rain will also impact South East Queensland, particularly south of Brisbane in the Darling Downs region.
'The risk with the rainfall this week is not how fast it will come or how heavy it is, it's really the prolonged nature of the rain over the course of a couple of days.
'Across NSW and Queensland, it's likely to rain for several hours, even if it's only 5mm to 10mm an hour. At the end of the day that's a lot in the rain gauge.'
The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts rainfall to increase across the east coast from Wednesday, with 24-hour rainfall totals of 40mm to 90mm likely across the two states.
This extended rainfall will hit already saturated catchments of NSW, with flood-worn residents of northern NSW being warned that the Peel and Namoi rivers could rise to dangerous levels in the coming days.
The bureau has extended flood watches to 15 other rivers in NSW, stretching from the Mid North Coast to the Hunter region, including the Macdonald River just north of Sydney.
NSW SES is on standby to perform flood rescues if necessary.
'We're sending aviation assets, high clearance vehicles and crews into the areas likely to be impacted by this rainfall,' NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Colin Malone said.
South East Queensland and NSW have already been dealt heavy overnight rains.
In the 24 hours to 9am, the highest rainfalls were 74mm at Parrearra on the Sunshine Coast, 71mm at Point Perpendicular in Jervis Bay and 42mm at Rose Bay in Sydney.
The extended deluge is expected to ease from Friday.
A cold front is also bringing freezing temps and heavy rains to Western Australia, drenching Perth, Bunbury, Manjimup and Albany in the state's southwest.
Perth received 53mm in the 22 hours to 7am, putting the city on track to eclipse its August average of 122.7mm.
That would make it the first time since 1996 that above-average rainfall has fallen in each of the winter months in Perth.
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