Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred brought intense rainfall and strong winds over the weekend, leaving about 450,000 homes across southeast Queensland and northeast NSW without power.
The video below shows heavy rainfall impacting southeast Queensland and northeast NSW on Sunday evening as the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Alfred moved inland.
Image: Six-hour radar and satellite loop to midnight (AEST) showing a region of convergence in which Brisbane received 92mm of rain in the six hours period as bands of heavy rain (green and yellow on the radar) appeared to continually replenish themselves.
While Alfred’s strongest winds were found well offshore last week, the system still brought strong to gale-force winds to parts of the region as the system neared and crossed the coast. The fierce winds combined with the intense and heavy rainfall brought down trees over power lines, leading to widespread power outages across southeast Queensland and northeast NSW. Over 330,000 residents over the region were affected on Saturday, with over 200,000 remaining without power as of midday Monday.
Some of the strongest wind observations over the past few days include:
- A 120km/h gust at Cape Byron on Friday morning, with gusts of 100-105km/h and sustained winds of about 90km/h recorded each day from Wednesday to Saturday.
- Sustained 82km/h winds, gusting to 104km/h, at Redcliff in Brisbane’s northeast on Saturday evening.
- Mean wind speeds of 83km/h, gusting to 100km/h, at Gold Coast Seaway on Friday evening.
Some of these exposed locations experienced periods of gales within the range of a category 1 cyclone, which typically features sustained winds of 63 to 88km/h, and gusts up to 125km/h. It was however the combination of heavy and intense rainfall with these periods of gales, that lead to the widespread power outages. The heavy rainfall loosened the soil around trees, weakening the roots’ ability to withstand the strong winds, sending trees down onto power lines.
Some notable rainfall observations over the past days include:
- 275mm in the 24 hours to 9am for Brisbane, marking the wettest day since January 1974 (during the Brisbane River floods) and wettest March day since 1908.
- Over 1,100mm over the past five days at Springbrook, in the Gold Coast’s hinterland.
- 224mm in three hours at Hervey Bay early on Sunday morning.
The image below shows that widespread daily falls of 200 to 300mm across Brisbane and the Gold Coast were estimated by DTN’s MetStorm to 9am on Monday, March 10.
Picture: DTN’s MetStorm Quantitative Precipitation Estimate (QPE) showing estimated rainfall across southeast Queensland over the 24 hours to 9am AEST on Monday, March 10, with widespread falls of 200-300mm across Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
Flooding continues to affect broad parts of southeast Queensland and northeast NSW on Monday, with moderate to major flooding disrupting transport routes and blocking rescue efforts over the region.
Heavy rainfall over southeast Queensland and the NSW Northern Rivers is expected to ease this afternoon, with lighter showers persisting into the coming week, helping alleviate flooding effects and aiding the recovery effort. Heavy rainfall will persist over Tuesday and early Wednesday for parts of NSW’s North West Slopes and Plains, possibly extending into the Mid North Coast and northern Hunter, before clearing through the mid-week period.
Picture: Rainfall accumulations across southeast Queensland in the 24 hours to 4am AEST on Tuesday.
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Thumbnail image: iStock/Alex Potemkin
