Weatherzone says a late-season tropical cyclone has formed over the Indian Ocean, which will see rain fall in WA later this week.
Cyclone Karim transitioned to a category two system last night.
(weather zone)
Although this is the off-season cyclone, modeling shows parts of the state could receive 30mm of rain.
“Australia’s tropical cyclone season officially ended over a week ago on April 30,” Weatherzone explained.
“However, unusually warm waters in the eastern Indian Ocean helped spawn an out-of-season tropical cyclone.
“Showers will begin to increase on the west coast of WA from Wednesday evening, before the rain becomes heavier and more widespread Thursday into Friday.”
The low pressure system should not make landfall.
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Queensland braces for flood
A major weather event is also expected to hit Queensland.
Most of the rain will fall over 700km of the central and northern parts of the coast from Townsville to Rockhampton and inland to Longreach and Winton.
The towns in this region have already received a lot of rain over the Anzac Day long weekend and the catchments are very full.
“That’s five times the monthly rainfall in May for Longreach,” Browne said, adding that the rainfall forecast is “conservative”.
“It’s very unusual for the month of May.
“The culprit is a large high pressure system in the Tasman Sea.
“And that pulls in a huge amount of moisture from the northeast from the Solomon Islands.”
Browne said rain will develop over inland regions from tonight, with the system moving towards the coast later tomorrow.
Up to 400mm of rain could fall on parts of the coast in just 48 hours as the SES prepares for emergencies.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said it was likely flood warnings would be issued throughout the day.
Residents of affected areas are urged to heed the warnings and updates and stay off the roads if possible.
Tomorrow through Thursday should be the greatest danger period.
The southeast of the state is not expected to see as much rain, but a severe wind warning is in place for the region.
The Sunshine Coast is also bracing for a thunderstorm and up to 90mm of rain.
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