Friday 1st July, 2005

MEDIA RELEASE - QUEENSLAND REGIONAL OFFICE

June rainfall breaks records across southern and western Queensland

Intense rainfall and flash flooding on the Gold Coast overnight on the 29th and early on the 30th occurred in association with an upper trough system and east coast low. The event resulted in June rainfall totals that were typically two to three times the average, and produced the heaviest June daily rainfalls seen in Queensland since 1967, when Springbrook set a Queensland June record with 621mm.

The highest totals recorded in the 24 hours to 3pm on the 30th included Loder Creek Dam with 587mm, Carrara with 585 mm, Evandale with 578mm and Biggera with 563mm. In the 24 hours to 9am on the 30th, several long-standing records for June daily rainfall totals were broken. These include Nerang with 346mm (previous highest 317.4mm in 1892, 115 years of record) and Oxenford with 290mm (previous 246.1mm in 1948, 102 years of record).

Elsewhere in the state, much of western and southern Qld received well above average rainfall for June, with some places reporting record high rainfall for this time of year. In parts of the west and southwest this follows an extremely dry start to the year. After receiving just 15.6mm in the first 5 months of the year, Windorah recorded its second highest monthly total for June, and highest since 1916, with 73.3mm (average 17mm, 119 years of record).

Record monthly rainfall totals for June in the west included Charleville with 136.6mm (average 23mm, 64 years of record), Bedourie 133.5mm (average 10.5mm, 60 years of record), Longreach 91.6mm (average 15mm, 51 years of record) and Urandangie 104.7mm (average 9.5mm, 114 years of record).

Other new records for monthly totals included Jandowae with 178.1 mm (average 38mm, 108 years of record), Thallon 133.6mm (average, 31mm, 93 years of record), Glenorie 90.8mm (average 22mm, 75 years of record) and Moura 118.7mm (average 27mm, 65 years of record).

For further information, please contact Ann Farrell on (07)32398660.
After-hour enquiries should be directed to the senior forecaster on (07)32398750.

The latest temperature/rainfall maps and seasonal outlooks for Queensland are available at
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/austmaps/
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/ahead/

World Wide Web www.bom.gov.au
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