Australians hoping for springtime sunlight will have to wait a little longer since this week will see above-average rainfall from a 2000km-long rain bomb.
With severe weather predicted for Victoria, NSW, Queensland, and the Northern Territory, Australia’s east coast is set to be hit hard.
Up to 40mm of rain is expected to fall on the eastern states on Monday, and showers are expected to continue until the end of the week.
On Monday and Tuesday, a 2,000 km rain belt is expected to deliver very heavy rain and thunderstorms to eastern Australia (pictured, predicted rainfall for Tuesday)
The alert is issued as Sydney seems certain to surpass its previous record for the greatest rainfall.
For the first time in over 60 years, Sydney received more than two meters of rain in a calendar year, and it did it in only eight months.
Sydney will have its wettest year on record in 2022 with only 200mm of more rainfall over the remainder of the year.
Australia’s eastern states will see heavy rain, and thunderstorms are expected in Canberra, Adelaide, and Melbourne.
Sydney saw its wettest year on record in 1950, with 2,194mm of precipitation.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) predicts that Monday will be a rainy day throughout the nation, with heavy rain anticipated in several areas of western and southern NSW, northern Victoria, and southwest Queensland.
On Monday morning, the 2,000 km-long rain band that stretches from Victoria in the west to western Queensland started moving east. It will continue to bring heavy rain to the eastern states through Tuesday.
The wettest year since the 1960s has been experienced by Sydneysiders, with almost 2,000mm of rain pouring in only eight months.
In Victoria, rain began pouring on Monday morning in the state’s northwest but is expected to spread and reach the majority of the state by today afternoon.
On Monday and Tuesday, Melbourne is predicted to see thunderstorms with daily rainfall totals of 15mm.
Winds that are both destructive and devastating are expected to accompany the storms.
On Monday morning, heavy rain in NSW was concentrated in the state’s west, although it would gradually drift eastward over the day.
The system is likely to weaken as it passes, with very light rain predicted for NSW’s south coast.
The anticipated severe rain is anticipated to surpass Sydney’s previous rainfall record, which was established in 1963.
Through Wednesday, Sydney is expected to remain gloomy before rains arrive for the rest of the week.
With thunderstorms predicted through Tuesday and gloomy weather the rest of the week, Canberra will also be affected by the system.
It will be chilly and hazy in the nation’s capital on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
According to Yoska Hernandez of Weatherzone.com.au, a cold front will start to approach NSW on Friday.
According to her, a southerly movement brought on by the cold front will cause temperatures to dip during the weekend.
“The adjustment will bring more rainfall.”
In Queensland’s west, a 2,000 km rain band will produce heavy rain before moving eastward and near the coast.
On Monday morning, Queensland’s west had heavy but intermittent rain while Cairns and Cooktown in the tropical north were slammed by a different storm system.
As the north coast rain proceeds to cover the majority of Queensland’s top on Tuesday, the severe weather will continue to concentrate on the state’s outback before moving eastward.
Brisbane is expected to see showers on Tuesday before the state has a significant break from the weather on Wednesday.
However, Brisbane is anticipated to get brief showers during the next week.
Thunderstorms are expected on Monday and Tuesday, according to advisories sent to residents of Canberra, Melbourne, and Adelaide.
With thunderstorms anticipated in Adelaide on Monday and Tuesday, eastern South Australia is predicted to catch the tail end of the 2,000 km rain belt.
The Northern Territory is also expected to get some rain, with brief showers expected on Monday and Tuesday in the state’s northeast and center, respectively.
With Monday and Tuesday expected to be bright, Darwin residents will avoid the most of the rain.
Storms will pass across Tasmania as the rain-band advances east, bringing light to moderate rains throughout the whole state.
It is predicted that Hobart will see rains on Tuesday, which will subside on Wednesday before rain returns until the end of the week.
From Friday, rain will spread east through southern Western Australia, giving Perth residents a rainy weekend.
Australia has been forewarned to expect more rainy weather because of the La Nina system. Bureau of Meteorology image
Also anticipated on Friday and lasting through the weekend is a shift of heavy rain into southern Washington.
Up until then, Perth will see mostly bright weather, with showers expected during the weekend.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warned on Friday that the expected heavy weather might cause floods throughout Spring.
Dr. Lynette Bettio, a senior climatologist with the Bureau of Meteorology, said that more rainfall this spring would raise the danger of floods for eastern Australia where soils and catchments are moist and stream flows are high.
The Northern Territory and parts of Queensland are set to see the first rains of the rainy season sooner than usual in northern Australia.
The wet season in northern Australia officially starts in October.
A second La Nina weather phenomenon is 70% likely this summer, the BOM predicted.
A La Nina year has 20% more rainfall on average between December and March than a typical year.
12 of the 19 La Nina weather episodes that have occurred in Australia since 1900 have resulted in floods in the eastern states.
MAJOR CITIES FOUR-DAY FORECAST