NSW Mid North Coast cops double the predicted rainfall
ABC meteorologist Tom Saunders says the Mid North Coast has received roughly double the rainfall predicted on the weekend.
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ABC News
4 hours ago
- ABC News
Cold weather in southern Queensland expected to remain until next week
The weather divide between Queensland's north and south has sharpened this week, as those above of the Tropic of Capricorn enjoy beach weather while southerners crowd around heaters and fireplaces. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the north is sitting on or slightly above average temperatures for this time of year. Cairns and Port Douglas are forecast to reach 28 degrees Celsius on Thursday, after similar conditions on Wednesday. On the coast north of Cairns, Ellis Beach Oceanfront Holiday Park manager Nick Giampietro said the sunshine had been a drawcard for southern travellers. "It's beautiful, a little overcast, but people are still swimming in the ocean and the pool, getting around in their bikinis and speedos," he said. "It's really busy at the moment. Most of our powered sites are booked. "Being our peak season, it's chaotic up here." Mr Giampietro said the park had been packed with people escaping the chill. "We've got all the southerners up here getting away from the cold weather down there," he said. Those who decided to tough it out in the south will have their resolve tested, with minimum temperatures forecast to stay well below average for about another week. Oakey on the Darling Downs and the Wellcamp Airport outside Toowoomba plummeted to almost -4C just before 5am on Thursday, while Applethorpe, Dalby, Miles and Warwick all dipped well into the negatives. Further west, Roma in the Maranoa recorded -2.3C, while Kingaroy in the Wide Bay region reached -3C. Daniel Hayes from the Bureau of Meteorology said inland parts of southern and central Queensland would continue to experience minimum temperatures between 4 and 10C below average until Monday. "Very clear, very dry conditions with very low humidity really allow that heat to escape during the day," he said. "Once the sun goes down, we start radiating all that heat out — and with no moisture, no cloud, and very little wind to interfere, it's getting very cool." Mr Hayes said frigid overnight conditions would lead to widespread frost. "Maybe not quite as widespread into places like the Channel Country and up into the Central Highlands and Coalfields," he said. "But we're still expecting to see a fair bit of frost through parts of the Maranoa, the Warrego, and the Darling Downs." There is some relief on the horizon, with a trough developing in the Northern Territory that could lift temperatures in Queensland as it moves east next week. "Probably around Tuesday in particular," Mr Hayes said. "Then we may finally start to see a bit of an easing of those very cool overnight temperatures. "Still probably a little below average — just less cold, rather than particularly warm." He said the same system could even bring some rain to the far north and showers down the coast. "Into places like the Herbert and Lower Burdekin, the northern Goldfields, Upper Flinders, Central Coast, and maybe even into the Capricornia area," he said.
ABC News
4 hours ago
- ABC News
Ghost mushroom season off to slow start under dry conditions in SA's south east
Drought conditions have slowed mushroom growth in South Australia's south-east, including the glowing fungi that has become a popular tourist attraction. Walk the Limestone Coast owner Natasha Dawson has been running ghost mushroom tours in the lower Limestone Coast for the past five years. She said that while the bioluminescent species Omphalotus nidiformis was found across Australia, the Limestone Coast, particularly its forested areas, was the hotspot for them. ForestrySA set up the Ghost Mushroom Lane tourist attraction in 2017, but a poor season in 2023 led to visits to Glencoe confined to tours run by Ms Dawson. So far this year, even she has yet to find enough of the mushrooms to take groups through. "I've found small patches [but] not enough that I would normally like to run a tour," Ms Dawson said. "The key thing is they're just not glowing." Local photographer Steve Chapple said he had also noticed a slow start to the mushroom season. "There's been a fairly significant lack of rain for everybody," he said. Ms Dawson said the ghost fungi species was sensitive to changes to the microclimate. "Of course they need rain, but we also think that they might have needed those really cold nights that we start getting in May to help as well," she said. Flinders University mycologist Michael Taylor said a lack of moisture in the soil meant the fungi had a harder time forming mushrooms. "A really good winter season is normally preceded by a good wet summer," Dr Taylor said. "So the longer it is dry for, the less likely it is that we're going to see a whole lot of mushrooms pop out." Dr Taylor said while no surveying had been undertaken, his observations were that it had "not been a great year for mushrooms so far". "We might see what we call a flush [of mushrooms] towards the end of winter, or into spring, if conditions stay a little bit wet and a little bit more moderate in temperature," he said. "Or we might just have a crumby season all round. Hopefully, we get some better rains next year." He said the lack of glowing could be an indicator that the fungi were not well-fed or were stressed. Ms Dawson said that with recent rain and cooler temperatures, she was hopeful the mushrooms would appear soon. Mr Chapple said he had recently started taking groups out on photography tours as mushrooms have begun to appear, including ghost mushrooms. "It's always cyclical," he said. "But I was panicking about some of the rarer ones that people come from interstate to see. It was a bit difficult to find them this year." In the long term, Dr Taylor said climate change could also change the distribution of different species. "There's probably going to be a mixture of introduced fungi, temperature, rainfall, and a few things that may well change what fungi we see and where we see them over the next 10 to 20 years," he said.
News.com.au
12 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Could have been devastating': What saved kayakers lost in extremely remote area
A group of men has been rescued from their kayaks after becoming stuck in an extremely remote area of NSW. The six men were kayaking downstream the Shoalhaven River on Monday after entering from the Oallen Ford with plans to arrive at the Bungonia State Recreation Centre near the Bee Box track exit. After the group failed to reach their pre-positioned vehicles, someone activated a personal locater beacon near Spa Rd Windellama about 1pm the same day, NSW Police said. A large-scale search operation was launched, with crews from NSW Ambulance, police rescue and bomb disposal unit, Polair, TOLL helicopters and the SES on the scene, and officers taking up a post at the Windellama Hall. The group was finally spotted at a remote location in a stepsided gorge. They were unable to go up or down the river and the location was not accessible by road. The TOLL helicopter and ambulance crews were able to rescue four of the six men, aged 51, 59, 60 and 64. They were taken back to the command post and treated for minor injuries and exposure. The remaining two men were forced to camp with two critical care paramedics overnight as the conditions became too dark to continue the rescue operation. The next day, about 10.50am, the 52-year-old and 26-year-old, were winched to safety and transported to Windellama, neither suffering any injuries. Superintendent Linda Bradbury said the men may not have been rescued had they not used a personal location beacon. 'The group of kayakers had necessary equipment to support their trip and had notified friends of their plans,' she said. 'The location they found themselves in was extremely remote and had they not been carrying a personal locator beacon, the outcome could have been devastating.' She reminded the public to check the weather conditions and are wearing suitable clothing before taking part in adventure sports – especially in remote locations. 'We thank all of the emergency service agencies for their contribution during the search and rescue operation,' she said. '(We) remind anyone heading out to engage in adventure sports, that they check the conditions, make sure they are wearing suitable clothing and carrying sufficient supplies, check the weather conditions and most importantly carry a personal locator beacon – which in this case, was lifesaving.'
