logo
Heavy rain and blizzard conditions to stick around for the weekend in several states

Heavy rain and blizzard conditions to stick around for the weekend in several states

SBS Australia6 days ago
Severe weather warnings are in place for several states this weekend with heavy downpours, intense wind gusts and blizzard conditions. A large rain band moving across Australia brought soggy conditions across large parts of the country, stretching from much of central Queensland to Tasmania and over to coastal areas of South Australia. Queensland copped an "unseasonable" amount of rain including in the central highlands, where 45 millimetres was recorded in the 24 hours to Saturday morning, Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Angus Hines said. South Australia received a much-needed soaking after 18 months of below-average rainfall, with the Mount Lofty Ranges recording 40mm-60mm.
"The rain that they've seen in the past 24 hours has been really bucking the trend of recent months," Hines told AAP.
It brought blizzard conditions to popular alpine areas in NSW and Victoria, sparking alerts for travellers hitting the road. The state's dry west also received a drenching, with the Grampians recording falls of about 60mm. The bureau also warned of blizzard conditions in NSW alpine areas with peak gusts up to 100km/h in the Snowy Mountains on Saturday, including the lower resort slopes at Perisher and Thredbo.
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service recommended back country travel be postponed until conditions improve.
Hines said winds in both states had the potential to bring down trees, damage properties and cause power outages. Some 42mm fell in just four hours on Saturday morning at Gray in Tasmania's northeast after a similar amount fell in the previous 24 hours. Emergency services are keeping an eye on rising rivers.
"Reduced visibility in heavy rain, with possible water over roads will make road conditions dangerous," the bureau said.
Queensland and Tasmania were expected to cop the most rain late on Saturday before conditions ease on Sunday. "It's going to stay quite wintry because it will be chilly, cold temperatures, quite gusty winds, sort of showers, possibly some hail in there as well," Hines said. The next burst of national soggy weather is already forming across West Australia and will hit Perth from about noon on Sunday.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Emergency assets 'pre-deployed' as heavy rain expected across weekend
Emergency assets 'pre-deployed' as heavy rain expected across weekend

The Advertiser

time5 hours ago

  • The Advertiser

Emergency assets 'pre-deployed' as heavy rain expected across weekend

Parts of NSW could experience flooding this weekend as a complex low-pressure system is forecast to usher rain and wind to parts of the state from August 1. Heavy rainfall, damaging winds and large surf are expected across much of the north coast and adjacent areas. Minor flooding is possible for the Hunter, Mid North Coast and Coffs Coast. Flooding is also possible for the Peel River at Tamworth and the Namoi River at Gunnedah. Locations that may be affected include Port Macquarie, Taree, Scone, Comboyne, Nowendoc, Gloucester, Forster, Bulahdelah and Muswellbrook. Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) senior meteorologist Angus Hines told ACM it "certainly was going to be a wet weekend" for parts of the state. "The rain is going to amplify and step up to the next level on Saturday," he said. "This is due to the low-pressure system, which is going to develop off the northeast coast of NSW, that will amplify the rainfall in eastern parts of the state." The heaviest rainfall will track from the northern Hunter to the southern half of the north coast, up to Port Macquarie. Those areas could see over 100mm of rain from late Saturday morning to Sunday morning. SES assistant commissioner Nicole Hogan said the organisation had prepared ahead of time for the affect of the low-pressure system by pre-deploying teams and assets into high-risk areas. "Flood rescue teams, high clearance vehicles and helicopters are pre-positioned, but the best protection is preparation by the community," she said. "If you haven't already, download the Hazards Near Me App and set a watch zone for your local community to get alerts on the latest information and warnings." In May, six days of intense rainfall left 50,000 people isolated across the mid-north coast and Hunter regions Parts of NSW could experience flooding this weekend as a complex low-pressure system is forecast to usher rain and wind to parts of the state from August 1. Heavy rainfall, damaging winds and large surf are expected across much of the north coast and adjacent areas. Minor flooding is possible for the Hunter, Mid North Coast and Coffs Coast. Flooding is also possible for the Peel River at Tamworth and the Namoi River at Gunnedah. Locations that may be affected include Port Macquarie, Taree, Scone, Comboyne, Nowendoc, Gloucester, Forster, Bulahdelah and Muswellbrook. Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) senior meteorologist Angus Hines told ACM it "certainly was going to be a wet weekend" for parts of the state. "The rain is going to amplify and step up to the next level on Saturday," he said. "This is due to the low-pressure system, which is going to develop off the northeast coast of NSW, that will amplify the rainfall in eastern parts of the state." The heaviest rainfall will track from the northern Hunter to the southern half of the north coast, up to Port Macquarie. Those areas could see over 100mm of rain from late Saturday morning to Sunday morning. SES assistant commissioner Nicole Hogan said the organisation had prepared ahead of time for the affect of the low-pressure system by pre-deploying teams and assets into high-risk areas. "Flood rescue teams, high clearance vehicles and helicopters are pre-positioned, but the best protection is preparation by the community," she said. "If you haven't already, download the Hazards Near Me App and set a watch zone for your local community to get alerts on the latest information and warnings." In May, six days of intense rainfall left 50,000 people isolated across the mid-north coast and Hunter regions Parts of NSW could experience flooding this weekend as a complex low-pressure system is forecast to usher rain and wind to parts of the state from August 1. Heavy rainfall, damaging winds and large surf are expected across much of the north coast and adjacent areas. Minor flooding is possible for the Hunter, Mid North Coast and Coffs Coast. Flooding is also possible for the Peel River at Tamworth and the Namoi River at Gunnedah. Locations that may be affected include Port Macquarie, Taree, Scone, Comboyne, Nowendoc, Gloucester, Forster, Bulahdelah and Muswellbrook. Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) senior meteorologist Angus Hines told ACM it "certainly was going to be a wet weekend" for parts of the state. "The rain is going to amplify and step up to the next level on Saturday," he said. "This is due to the low-pressure system, which is going to develop off the northeast coast of NSW, that will amplify the rainfall in eastern parts of the state." The heaviest rainfall will track from the northern Hunter to the southern half of the north coast, up to Port Macquarie. Those areas could see over 100mm of rain from late Saturday morning to Sunday morning. SES assistant commissioner Nicole Hogan said the organisation had prepared ahead of time for the affect of the low-pressure system by pre-deploying teams and assets into high-risk areas. "Flood rescue teams, high clearance vehicles and helicopters are pre-positioned, but the best protection is preparation by the community," she said. "If you haven't already, download the Hazards Near Me App and set a watch zone for your local community to get alerts on the latest information and warnings." In May, six days of intense rainfall left 50,000 people isolated across the mid-north coast and Hunter regions Parts of NSW could experience flooding this weekend as a complex low-pressure system is forecast to usher rain and wind to parts of the state from August 1. Heavy rainfall, damaging winds and large surf are expected across much of the north coast and adjacent areas. Minor flooding is possible for the Hunter, Mid North Coast and Coffs Coast. Flooding is also possible for the Peel River at Tamworth and the Namoi River at Gunnedah. Locations that may be affected include Port Macquarie, Taree, Scone, Comboyne, Nowendoc, Gloucester, Forster, Bulahdelah and Muswellbrook. Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) senior meteorologist Angus Hines told ACM it "certainly was going to be a wet weekend" for parts of the state. "The rain is going to amplify and step up to the next level on Saturday," he said. "This is due to the low-pressure system, which is going to develop off the northeast coast of NSW, that will amplify the rainfall in eastern parts of the state." The heaviest rainfall will track from the northern Hunter to the southern half of the north coast, up to Port Macquarie. Those areas could see over 100mm of rain from late Saturday morning to Sunday morning. SES assistant commissioner Nicole Hogan said the organisation had prepared ahead of time for the affect of the low-pressure system by pre-deploying teams and assets into high-risk areas. "Flood rescue teams, high clearance vehicles and helicopters are pre-positioned, but the best protection is preparation by the community," she said. "If you haven't already, download the Hazards Near Me App and set a watch zone for your local community to get alerts on the latest information and warnings." In May, six days of intense rainfall left 50,000 people isolated across the mid-north coast and Hunter regions

Scone, Narrandera races called off, weather threatens more meetings
Scone, Narrandera races called off, weather threatens more meetings

The Australian

time5 hours ago

  • The Australian

Scone, Narrandera races called off, weather threatens more meetings

Thoroughbred racing in New South Wales for the next 72 hours is at the mercy of the weather gods. Thursday's meetings at Scone and Narrandera were abandoned due to heavy rainfall in the districts while a host of meetings on Friday and over the weekend are also under a cloud. Friday's racing is scheduled for Kembla Grange where the track was rated a heavy (9) on Thursday morning with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting up to 28mm of rain in the area over the next 24 hours. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! 'Right now as things stand the meeting is OK but we are probably going to need a bit of luck in the next 24 hours and beyond,' Racing NSW chief steward Tom Moxon said. The Coffs Harbour meeting, headlined by the $150,000 Coffs Harbour Cup (1600m) which carries Big Dance eligibility, is also set down for Friday and possibly is the safest meeting in the state over the next three days. The Mid-North Coast track was rated a soft (6) on Thursday morning with less than 10mm of rail expected during the remainder of Thursday and Friday. • J-Mac in touching distance of Moore's all-time mark Saturday's three TAB meetings at Rosehill, Newcastle and Tuncurry are all needing some luck with heavy rain predicted along the coast over the next three days. Rosehill was rated a heavy (8) at 8am on Thursday, with rain continuing to fall, and the forecast leading into the meeting is for up to 25mm on Friday and between 8mm and 35mm on Saturday. 'We'll go out and inspect the track on Friday afternoon at around 2pm,' Moxon said. 'A few of the forecasters are predicting varying amounts of rain so it's going to be a case of 'watch this space'. 'We'll inspect again on Saturday morning and hopefully we have a bit of luck with the weather.' Newcastle and Tuncurry are separated by 163km and the forecast for the southern part of the Mid-North Coast isn't as favourable as it is a further 247km north at Coffs Harbour. Newcastle copped 30mm in the 24 hours prior to 7.45am on Thursday and was rated a heavy (10) with Thursday's total rainfall predicted to be up to 25mm with a further 35mm on Friday and 50mm on Saturday possible. At Tuncurry the track was rated a heavy (8) and similar numbers are being predicted in the next 72 hours. • Schiller gets green light for early spring return 'Things are not looking as good at Newcastle and Tuncurry but we'll continue to monitor the situation and weight up what our options are going forward,' Moxon said. Sunday's Wyong meeting is also in doubt with the Central Coast track expecting similar falls to Newcastle with a further 20mm possible on Sunday. The track was put out a soft (7) on Thursday. The Forbes Cup meeting is also scheduled for Sunday and the track was rated a heavy (8) on Thursday morning. The Central West town has a much more favourable weather outlook over the next few days with only 7mm of rain forecast over the next four days. Read related topics: Weather Horse Racing Newcastle trainer Mark Minervini aims for immediate returns with his Godolphin purchase Hanau at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday. Horse Racing Racing Victoria has a luxury of time and potential to make right decisions on its multimillion dollar Oaklands Park dream field.

Hail creates snow-like scenes in outback towns of South Australia's far north
Hail creates snow-like scenes in outback towns of South Australia's far north

ABC News

time7 hours ago

  • ABC News

Hail creates snow-like scenes in outback towns of South Australia's far north

Parts of outback South Australia looked more like a scene from a European winter yesterday, after a massive hailstorm covered desert terrain in the state's far north in white. It was a sight rarely witnessed in South Australia, especially so far north — much to the amazement of locals and travellers — as temperatures dropped to freezing levels. Kath Acton lives in the Riverland but has been travelling through the Flinders Ranges for a couple of weeks. "We were driving from Wilpena to Rawnsley and it started hailing so we pulled up," she said. "Then the sound on the roof of the car changed and the drops on the windscreen changed and we all realised we were getting snowed on. "The outside temperature dropped to 3 degrees. It was very cold." The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said the icy white witnessed in the Flinders Ranges and opal mining town of Andamooka was mostly LASH, which stood for large accumulation of small hail. BOM meteorologist Daniel Sherwin-Simpson said light snowfall was possible, but not confirmed. "We did expect to see some thunderstorms up around the Flinders Ranges, [but] we probably weren't expecting the accumulation of small hail that we got, the LASH. "There were also some decent showers up there with some localised flash flooding, so it'll be interesting to see what actually made it into the rain gauge." Mr Sherwin-Simpson said the bureau had not received the data for Andamooka yet. "It can take two or three days," he said. "The highest we saw was Arkaroola, which received 7 millimetres of rain yesterday." In Andamooka, about 20 minutes north-east of Roxby Downs, the hail arrived just after midday, starting lightly before hammering down. The BOM received many hail reports from the town, where local Leila Day said it sounded "like rocks" on the tin roofs. "We weren't really sure it was hail for a minute, then it got thicker and stronger," she said. "[Now] everyone's out making snow angels." Matthew Kathegan, an Andamooka opal miner, was one of those rolling in the hail while others nearby were making snowballs. "I just had to get into it," he said. "I've seen a little bit of hail in the past before, but nothing that piled up that much and made it look like snow. There was snow on roofs and roads, it was absolutely everywhere." He said the hail rained down for about an hour and a half, and it gathered on the ground in little balls the size of "Tic Tacs". But as quickly as the weather event arrived, it was gone — the hail melted and swept out of town — and everything was "back to getting dry again," Mr Kathegan said. "We were lucky to get out there when we did," he said. "I've only been to the snow once in my life, but it really did feel like snow." Snow in the outback is not completely unheard of, with parts of the Flinders Ranges receiving a light snowfall in 2020. However, the BOM does not expect the snow-like conditions to continue. "There could be a couple of showers about the far-eastern border of the state, up around Moomba," Mr Sherwin-Simpson said. "But nothing like the hail we saw yesterday." According to a University of New South Wales study released earlier this week, the frequency of "giant" hail and the number of hail days in a season could increase substantially for multiple Australian cities as the climate warms. Giant hail has been shown to cause substantial damage to cities, with some of Australia's most expensive insurance disasters caused by hailstorms. The BOM issues warnings when hail is over 2 centimetres in size.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store