Australian Reptile Park had to relocate Koalas when a flash flood ripped through the area. Photo / Supplied via Instagram
Aussies are breathing a collective sigh of relief this morning after our thirsty country was showered with rain.
The wild weather has already caused flash flooding in parts of the country, with rain expected to continue today and into the weekend for much of Australia's east, stretching all the way from Queensland down to Tasmania.
The rain was so heavy on the NSW Central Coast that the popular Australian Reptile Park was forced to shut down after a flash flood tore through the zoo.
The park, which is located at Somersby, uploaded incredible footage to its Facebook page showing water gushing through enclosures.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Australian Reptile Park (@australianreptilepark) on
Drenched koalas had to be moved to safety while other staff were located outside the Alligator Lagoon to make sure there were no escapees as the water level rose quickly towards to the fence line.
Australian Reptile Park Director, Tim Faulkner, said the park hadn't seen this kind of flooding in over 15 years,
"This is incredible! Just last week, we were having daily meetings to discuss the imminent threat of bushfires, just 8km away from the Park here in Somersby," he said.
"Today, we've had the whole team out there, drenched, acting fast to secure the safety of our animals and defend the Park from the onslaught of water."
"Our quick action with the flooding this morning has allowed us to get the situation under control and we are confident that we will be business as usual tomorrow. We'll be open and ready to welcome visitors for the rest of the summer school holidays!"
Mr Faulkner said while the rain between the bushfire crisis and the sudden flooding was "striking" he and his team were well aware that much of Australia is still burning.
"The rain doesn't replace the millions of hectares of habitat that has been lost over the last few months," he said.
Sydney was also drenched, with rain bucketing down across the city and causing a few issues for morning commuters.
Rain flooded roads in the CBD, even forcing the light rail to shut briefly.
Apparently, part(s) of the light rail track system are flooded in the Sydney CBD. I’m told we might be sitting here for some time. 🚃 🌧
— John Bergin (@theburgerman) January 16, 2020
A few soaks & spills this morning after wading my way to work, thanks to some timely Sydney Flash Flooding! Praying some of this reaches those who need it. #sydneyrain #sydneyweather pic.twitter.com/U6CFptbnu0
— Anna Kamasz (@AnnaKamasz) January 16, 2020
Amazing how fast Sydney can go from being shut down by smoke to being shut down by rain.#sydneyrain
— Byron Kaye (@byronkaye) January 16, 2020
I've never been so happy to welcome the rain! #sydneyrain #sydneyfires #sydneysider pic.twitter.com/O3Cb9TkCS7
— Virgile Edragas (@virgileedragas) January 16, 2020
But the flooding across the city wasn't met with the usual grumbling from morning commuters, instead everyone seemed to embrace the much-needed rain.
Big fat soaking raindrops - best sight ever #SydneyRain @BOM_NSW pic.twitter.com/jKBY8aJyck
— Ming Long AM (@MingYLong) January 16, 2020
Big fat soaking raindrops - best sight ever #SydneyRain @BOM_NSW pic.twitter.com/jKBY8aJyck
— Ming Long AM (@MingYLong) January 16, 2020
It is absolutely pouring in Sydney today! What a way to wake up! Sweet sweet rain...we welcome you with open arms! Even better, it’s reaching the NSW fire front...so thankful! #sydney #rain #sydneyrain pic.twitter.com/rebDrgL0Cf
— Melissa Elias (@MelissaJElias) January 16, 2020
In Queensland, Palen Creek, near Mount Barney and the NSW border, has already received a whopping 166mm.
A second weather system is also forecast to form on Monday, bringing heavy thunderstorms and a massive rain event further inland, potentially bringing showers to drought-weary farmers.
Boonanghi, on the NSW mid-north coast, has recorded 126mm of rain while Bulahdelah received 112mm, its best rainfall since March 2017.
The town of Bundarra in the Northern Tablelands also recorded its best rainfall since November 2011 after receiving 105mm.
Victorians who prayed for rain had their prayers answered this week when a major thunderstorm brought lightning and filled the water gauges with more than a month's worth of rain in some parts. Melbourne also experienced heavy showers, triggering road warnings as water flooded the city.
The same storm brought heavy rain north. Canberra experienced a severe thunderstorm, as did the NSW coast from Wollongong all the way to Newcastle.
Thousands of lightning strikes causes power outages to more than 9000 homes across the Hunter Region.
If you have been following the #thunderstorm activity across #NSW today and want to know how much #rain has fallen where. Head to the rain and river conditions map at https://t.co/NvpzQDnpg9. pic.twitter.com/XmmayWdQGn
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) January 16, 2020
Experts say more rain is on the way on Friday but the storm brings with it strong winds meaning there's a real risk trees damaged by fire will topple.
Sydneysiders should expect showers and thunderstorms in the morning with a chance of 25mm before it clears and calm conditions roll in.
But the calm won't last long. By the weekend, a major weather system will impact people in Victoria, South Australia and parts of NSW.
Sky News Weather chief meteorologist Tom Saunders said there was even potential for "supercell storms".
"By Monday, a cut-off low pressure system will bring widespread heavy rain and we could see widespread severe weather with damaging wind gusts, further flash flooding and we could even see supercell storms," Mr Saunders said.
"So there's going to be some big rain."
The weather system will be felt all the way through central NSW down to the Victorian coastline before it moves out on Tuesday.
It also brings a risk of landslides, debris and mud slides due to our ongoing bushfire crisis and the amount of ash on the ground.
But the wet weather won't just affect the southeast. Brisbane will experience showers right through until next week.
The same goes for Townsville, Cairns and all the way up to Darwin.
Melbourne is expected to be mostly dry on Friday, but the Bureau of Meteorology has warned the smoke haze that enveloped the city earlier this week will return on Saturday.
Smoke from the intense fires on 30/31 Dec has now travelled around the globe at altitude. Images courtesy #NASAWorldView show high aerosol concentrations from 28th Dec to 15th Jan. There is also a large concentration of lower smoke over the Pacific Ocean. https://t.co/TwwKt467qS) pic.twitter.com/zs2UysE8Rw
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) January 16, 2020
Here's the weather we can expect around parts of Australia this coming week.
NSW will finally receive some much-needed rain in parts of the state that haven't seen heavy falls for months.
Most of the state is expected to receive rain from today, except for the west and southwest, with the falls to continue into Monday.
Flash flooding is particularly a big risk on Saturday in north east NSW before the heavy rain moves further south.
If Dubbo picks up its forecast 50mm, that would be the heaviest rain the inland town has since in 12 months.
Tamworth is also forecast to have 50mm of rain — its heaviest in 10 months.
Areas around the south coast and Southern Tablelands are predicted to receive up to 30mm but the Bureau of Meteorology says the rain will be patchy and exact falls are difficult to predict.
The hit & miss nature of #thunderstorms means it's difficult to forecast exactly where the heaviest rain will be—some parts of #bushfire & #drought affected eastern Australia could see 50–100 mm over the next few days; while others may see very little https://t.co/T7MYuIdxkO pic.twitter.com/zgmiBmqcIG
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) January 15, 2020
Heavy falls are also expected for the central and northern coast of NSW from today for the next week with Sydney to receive intense falls today.
Rain is also expected over the fire grounds in NSW with an average of 25 to 50mm expected to fall in the south of the state.
"That is enough to slow down large fires, perhaps to even extinguish some smaller fires but probably not enough to put out the larger fires though," Mr Saunders said.
Thunderstorms that hit Victoria yesterday will stay in the east of the state today, but rather than help ease the current active blazes, it again might mean more bushfire trouble.
Lightning ignited fires in Victoria's eastern Great Otway National Park yesterday and authorities fear it could do the same in the fire-ravaged East Gippsland and north east regions.
Heavy falls are forecast for the east of the state from today until the weekend.
"These storms are slow moving and there's a high amount of moisture so that means flash flooding will be the main threat from these storms over the next few days," Mr Saunders said.
Thunderstorms are also likely to produce damaging winds and carry large hail and heavy rainfall leading to flash flooding.
A road water alert was also in place for Melbourne last night, after some western suburbs like St Albans saw up to 77mm of sudden rain.
The rain helped clear the hazardous bushfire smoke blanketing the city, which had caused the closure of a runway at Melbourne Airport and some flights delayed.
By Monday, a second weather system will form over western Victoria, bringing the potential for flash flooding and damaging wind gusts.
The nation's capital received some wild weather this week with heavy rain and thunderstorms bringing small hail.
The cut-off low pushing through on Monday is also predicted to hit parts of the territory with further rain on the way.
It's going to be very wet in Queensland over the coming days with falls forecast for the entire coast and the drought-ravaged western regions also hopefully getting some rain.
By Saturday and Sunday the best falls will be along the Queensland coast but by early next week storms should return and head inland.
The storm cell could bring the heaviest rain in months for places like Longreach.
"In some areas, if you're under a good storm, you could see the heaviest rain in years," Mr Saunders said.
Brisbane and the Gold Coast are expecting up to 50mm over the coming week while Rockhampton and Bundaberg could receive up to 25mm.
Flash flood warnings are in place for parts of the state with some regions forecast to get up to 100mm of rain over the week.
"By Sunday, early Monday (the weather system) will contract out to the coast and then we will start to get some further storms inland early next week," Mr Saunders said.
"The rain will continue through the tropics with the true wet season returning."
The low pressure system coming through on Monday will miss most of South Australia with only the south eastern region getting a good drenching.
Adelaide is expecting possible showers but the South Australian capital will stay mainly cloudy.
The Apple Isle will be hit by the same weather system authorities are warning about for Monday.
Possible showers are expected in Hobart.
The Northern Territory will see typical wet season weather this week with heavy rain and thunderstorms forecast for the next week.
Perth is expecting a sunny, warm week. In the north of the state, where Tropical Cyclone Claudia earlier brought heavy rain and damaging wind, conditions are calming.
Earlier this week, inland Western Australia had some good rain and storms, with parts of the Pilbara and Gascoyne regions received showers.
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