Rain in north set to clear as cool weather continues across Queensland
The Bureau of Meteorology says unseasonal rainfall in Far North Queensland is set to ease as temperatures in the south remain below average.
Burketown in the Gulf of Carpentaria received about 60 millimetres of rain amid widespread falls in the north and up to 30mm fell on parts of the Atherton Tablelands on Monday night.
BOM spokesperson Daniel Hayes said a trough brought about 10mm of rain to coastal areas between Townsville and Mackay on Tuesday.
"Generally speaking we've probably seen the heaviest of the rain out of this cloudband and series of troughs," he said.
"The amounts that we've seen, while they're relatively high for this time of the year, are nothing particularly unusual for the area in general.
"Handy rainfall, but probably not all that welcome in those areas where the [sugar] crush has started."
The sugar cane harvest is underway in the north but the wet weather has brought activity to a halt for some in the Ingham area.
Canegrower Matt Pappin said the rain was welcome at his property.
"Being a farmer, you don't want too much, you just want the right amount," he said.
"So … an inch of rain – 25mm or something like that – won't go astray," he said.
Mr Pappin planned to irrigate at his property but that was no longer necessary.
"This moisture now will give it a boost," he said.
"It will draw some water up the stem and it will go into, maybe, a growth mode again."
But Mr Pappin said for other growers the rain was inconvenient, especially after a very wet start to the year.
"I know blokes in other parts of the district that are just getting onto their paddocks and discing them for the first time because it is wet," he said.
Mr Hayes said the BOM expected temperatures throughout the state to remain a little below average.
Temperatures in the mid to low 20s are expected in Brisbane over the next seven days.
Mr Hayes said temperatures increased slightly due to cloud cover but as that cleared cooler air would be pushed up into southern and central parts of the state by systems moving through the southern part of the country.
"We'll see a return to fairly widespread frosty conditions across the southern and even into central inland parts of the state through Wednesday, Thursday, Friday morning," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
BlazeAid pays hay transport costs for Victorian farmers struggling with drought
Road trains laden with hay are travelling thousands of kilometres to keep livestock alive in southern Australia amid ongoing feed shortages. Drought-stricken farmers are transporting fodder from as far north as Bundaberg in Queensland to feed their animals. But Victorian farmer and BlazeAid founder Kevin Butler said freight costs were prohibitive. "It's doubled in price and it's still skyrocketing even further … the big issue is freight," he said. BlazeAid is offering to cover the fodder freight bills for cattle farmers doing it tough. The disaster relief charity is helping to organise the loads of hay and farmers are encouraged to arrange collection points in their area. The Victorian government has announced a range of support options for drought-affected farmers but has not committed to subsidising fodder. Agriculture Minister Ros Spence told the Victorian Country Hour earlier this month that "fodder subsidies don't work." "The first thing that happens is they drive up price and then that doesn't help farmers' cash flow," she said. But Mr Butler said farmers were in "dire straits" and that freight assistance made sense. "So if the government won't do it, then BlazeAid will do it," he said. Mr Butler said feeding animals was the biggest concern at the moment. "[Farmers] are just not going to sleep at night because they know their cows are starving and they don't know where the next bale of hay is going to come from," he said. "I just can't sit by and hear about all these [breeding animals] getting their heads chopped off and I certainly can't sit by and see my fellow farmers going broke." Recent rain has turned brown paddocks green across many of the drought-affected areas, but feed for animals is still scarce. John Davison, who runs an agriculture business and small farm at Sugarloaf Creek near Seymour, is coordinating the BlazeAid freight support. He said livestock owners would have to truck hay in well into spring. "It's nice to keep the moisture in the soil, but because of the cold temperatures we won't get growth," Mr Davison said. "What we can classify this now [as] is a green drought. "The paddocks may look green … but you won't get any higher than an inch [of grass]. "There's so many ongoing issues now — farmers are selling their breeding stock. "If you think you're living in the metropolitan areas and it doesn't affect you, eventually it will, when you start to go buy lamb and beef and see the prices go up. "It will take a couple of years to get back up to the [breeding stock] level we're at now."
The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Whales treat locals to magical views as winter weather sets in
WINTER is here, and Novocastrians are taking the time to catch a glimpse of the humpback highway as whales migrate north. From June some 45,000 whales are expected to make the long swim north towards tropical waters, passing along the Hunter coast and treating locals to magical views from land. Whales were spotted mucking around off the coast on Tuesday, June 17 and could be seen from the Newcastle Ocean Baths. Two kayakers had front-row seats as they were treated to a salute by a magnificent whale slap, while a dolphin cruised past a scuba diver. Fresh westerly winds battered the Hunter midweek as a slow-moving high-pressure system continues to bring fine, dry weather conditions for the rest of the week, with cold and frosty mornings. The wind speed in Newcastle on Tuesday was 25 to 30 kilometres per hour, gusting up to 40 km/h. A Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said while the weather wasn't unusual for this time of year, some cool temperatures were forecast for the Hunter. "The main feature will be the cold frosty mornings, especially in the Upper Hunter. Newcastle is spared from the frosty morning due to its close proximity to the sea," they said. They said in Newcastle, minimum temperatures will hover between six and eight degrees over the coming days, while away from the coastline, temperatures will be close to 0 degrees or below on Thursday. A cold front is expected to bring showers and windy conditions next week and the potential for small hail and snow above 1000 metres. WINTER is here, and Novocastrians are taking the time to catch a glimpse of the humpback highway as whales migrate north. From June some 45,000 whales are expected to make the long swim north towards tropical waters, passing along the Hunter coast and treating locals to magical views from land. Whales were spotted mucking around off the coast on Tuesday, June 17 and could be seen from the Newcastle Ocean Baths. Two kayakers had front-row seats as they were treated to a salute by a magnificent whale slap, while a dolphin cruised past a scuba diver. Fresh westerly winds battered the Hunter midweek as a slow-moving high-pressure system continues to bring fine, dry weather conditions for the rest of the week, with cold and frosty mornings. The wind speed in Newcastle on Tuesday was 25 to 30 kilometres per hour, gusting up to 40 km/h. A Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said while the weather wasn't unusual for this time of year, some cool temperatures were forecast for the Hunter. "The main feature will be the cold frosty mornings, especially in the Upper Hunter. Newcastle is spared from the frosty morning due to its close proximity to the sea," they said. They said in Newcastle, minimum temperatures will hover between six and eight degrees over the coming days, while away from the coastline, temperatures will be close to 0 degrees or below on Thursday. A cold front is expected to bring showers and windy conditions next week and the potential for small hail and snow above 1000 metres. WINTER is here, and Novocastrians are taking the time to catch a glimpse of the humpback highway as whales migrate north. From June some 45,000 whales are expected to make the long swim north towards tropical waters, passing along the Hunter coast and treating locals to magical views from land. Whales were spotted mucking around off the coast on Tuesday, June 17 and could be seen from the Newcastle Ocean Baths. Two kayakers had front-row seats as they were treated to a salute by a magnificent whale slap, while a dolphin cruised past a scuba diver. Fresh westerly winds battered the Hunter midweek as a slow-moving high-pressure system continues to bring fine, dry weather conditions for the rest of the week, with cold and frosty mornings. The wind speed in Newcastle on Tuesday was 25 to 30 kilometres per hour, gusting up to 40 km/h. A Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said while the weather wasn't unusual for this time of year, some cool temperatures were forecast for the Hunter. "The main feature will be the cold frosty mornings, especially in the Upper Hunter. Newcastle is spared from the frosty morning due to its close proximity to the sea," they said. They said in Newcastle, minimum temperatures will hover between six and eight degrees over the coming days, while away from the coastline, temperatures will be close to 0 degrees or below on Thursday. A cold front is expected to bring showers and windy conditions next week and the potential for small hail and snow above 1000 metres. WINTER is here, and Novocastrians are taking the time to catch a glimpse of the humpback highway as whales migrate north. From June some 45,000 whales are expected to make the long swim north towards tropical waters, passing along the Hunter coast and treating locals to magical views from land. Whales were spotted mucking around off the coast on Tuesday, June 17 and could be seen from the Newcastle Ocean Baths. Two kayakers had front-row seats as they were treated to a salute by a magnificent whale slap, while a dolphin cruised past a scuba diver. Fresh westerly winds battered the Hunter midweek as a slow-moving high-pressure system continues to bring fine, dry weather conditions for the rest of the week, with cold and frosty mornings. The wind speed in Newcastle on Tuesday was 25 to 30 kilometres per hour, gusting up to 40 km/h. A Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said while the weather wasn't unusual for this time of year, some cool temperatures were forecast for the Hunter. "The main feature will be the cold frosty mornings, especially in the Upper Hunter. Newcastle is spared from the frosty morning due to its close proximity to the sea," they said. They said in Newcastle, minimum temperatures will hover between six and eight degrees over the coming days, while away from the coastline, temperatures will be close to 0 degrees or below on Thursday. A cold front is expected to bring showers and windy conditions next week and the potential for small hail and snow above 1000 metres.
ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
Rain in north set to clear as cool weather continues across Queensland
The Bureau of Meteorology says unseasonal rainfall in Far North Queensland is set to ease as temperatures in the south remain below average. Burketown in the Gulf of Carpentaria received about 60 millimetres of rain amid widespread falls in the north and up to 30mm fell on parts of the Atherton Tablelands on Monday night. BOM spokesperson Daniel Hayes said a trough brought about 10mm of rain to coastal areas between Townsville and Mackay on Tuesday. "Generally speaking we've probably seen the heaviest of the rain out of this cloudband and series of troughs," he said. "The amounts that we've seen, while they're relatively high for this time of the year, are nothing particularly unusual for the area in general. "Handy rainfall, but probably not all that welcome in those areas where the [sugar] crush has started." The sugar cane harvest is underway in the north but the wet weather has brought activity to a halt for some in the Ingham area. Canegrower Matt Pappin said the rain was welcome at his property. "Being a farmer, you don't want too much, you just want the right amount," he said. "So … an inch of rain – 25mm or something like that – won't go astray," he said. Mr Pappin planned to irrigate at his property but that was no longer necessary. "This moisture now will give it a boost," he said. "It will draw some water up the stem and it will go into, maybe, a growth mode again." But Mr Pappin said for other growers the rain was inconvenient, especially after a very wet start to the year. "I know blokes in other parts of the district that are just getting onto their paddocks and discing them for the first time because it is wet," he said. Mr Hayes said the BOM expected temperatures throughout the state to remain a little below average. Temperatures in the mid to low 20s are expected in Brisbane over the next seven days. Mr Hayes said temperatures increased slightly due to cloud cover but as that cleared cooler air would be pushed up into southern and central parts of the state by systems moving through the southern part of the country. "We'll see a return to fairly widespread frosty conditions across the southern and even into central inland parts of the state through Wednesday, Thursday, Friday morning," he said.
