In brief
- A tropical low is expected to bring wet weather to parts of Australia this week.
- Severe weather warnings for heavy to intense rainfall and damaging winds are in place for parts of QLD, NSW, NT and SA.
As summer draws to a close, large parts of Australia are bracing for days of heavy rain and severe thunderstorms, with flash flooding, damaging winds and community disruption possible.
The wet weather is being driven by a tropical low sitting over central Australia that is expected to linger for much of the week, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).
It comes as the East West rail line — one of Australia's major freight routes — has been closed for at least a week following 24 hours of heavy rain and flooding.
Significant falls were recorded overnight across several states.
Parts of the Northern Territory and western Queensland saw around 50mm near the tropical low, while Queensland's north tropical coast recorded 50 to 100mm.
Port Augusta in South Australia recorded 50mm on Sunday after what senior BoM meteorologist Illana Cherney described as a "very dry start to the summer".
In Victoria's north-east, more than 100mm fell in parts of the alpine and border regions, triggering flash flooding around Wodonga on Sunday evening.
Warnings for multiple states
Severe weather warnings for heavy to intense rainfall and damaging winds are current from central parts of the Northern Territory through western Queensland and into northern South Australia and western NSW.
"As that low lingers over Central Australia, falls of 50 to 100 millimetres are possible each day and there's a risk of damaging gusts in thunderstorms," Cherney said.
Large flood watches and warnings are also in place across northern and central Australia, with ongoing flooding in parts of Queensland.
"With rainfall accumulating over numerous days and that ongoing risk of flash and riverine flooding, we're looking at the possibility of road closures and community isolation through interior parts of the country," she said.
"The persistent heavy rainfall along with cooler-than-average conditions and gusty winds also threatens cattle and other livestock."
Melbourne is expected to be wettest on Tuesday.
"Tuesday is going to be quite a wet day for Melbourne with severe thunderstorms, likely to bring heavy rainfall and the possibility of flash flooding," Cherney said, adding storms were likely "including across the Melbourne metro area".
Sydney's most significant weather is forecast for Wednesday.
"A southerly change will then move through the metro area during the afternoon, bringing showers and the risk of some storms, and those storms may be severe, bringing heavy rainfall or damaging winds," Cherney said.
East West rail line closed following heavy rain
Meanwhile, the East West rail line has been closed following 24 hours of heavy rain and flooding.
The major rail corridor was "significantly impacted, with track washaways of up to 100 metres in some locations", a statement from the Australian Rail Track Corporation read.
Also known as the Trans-Australian railway, the East West rail line is a major freight route that connects Perth with the eastern states.
It's expected that it will take longer than seven days for services to resume, with the weather system possibly exacerbating existing damage and recovery efforts.
But the rain will also bring relief to parts of South Australia and Victoria experiencing prolonged dry conditions.
"Rainfall over agricultural areas does bring some relief, particularly to parts of South Australia and Victoria, which have been experiencing very long-term rainfall deficiencies," Cherney said.
It will be the first time significant rain have hit the bushfire-affected states since December.
A "bull's eye" around central Melbourne, with possible falls of more than 75mm, could potentially put out fires still burning in parts of Victoria.
— With reporting by the Australian Associated Press.
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