In the first significant rainfall in months, Eastern Australia has been deluged by storms even as the country continues to battle bushfires.
Melbourne was hit then Sydney got drenched the next day.
Another weather system is set to hit Victoria, South Australia, and western NSW.
Sky News Weather chief meteorologist Tom Saunders said: “By Monday, a cut-off low-pressure system will bring widespread heavy rain.
“We could see widespread severe weather with damaging wind gusts, further flash flooding and we could even see supercell storms.
“So there’s going to be some big rain.”
Weatherzone shared horror maps showing the thunderstorms forming over the eastern coast of Australia as Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino explained that moisture-laden air combined with the low-pressure trough to result in widespread thunderstorms and showers.
“While this type of weather pattern is not unusual for this time of year, it’s the first widespread rain and storm event we’ve seen in eastern Australia so far this season,” he said.
“Showers and storms will start to increase over Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria from Wednesday and continue to affect parts of eastern Australia each day, until at least early each next week.”
The downpours have been a blessing that already extinguished 32 bushfires in New South Wales. Over the weekend, the Bureau of Meteorology predicts between 30 and 80 mm of rain in the east of NSW.
This news will come as relief among the exhausted firefighters who have been battling the blazes for more than 3 months.
NSW Rural Fire Service Inspector Ben Shepherd said: “It’s the most positive forecast the RFS has had in months and will give crews a chance to regroup and work on containment lines.”
But ironically, the thunderstorms themselves also bring more danger of bushfires.
In Victoria’s eastern Great Otway National Park, lightning ignited fires during the deluge and authorities are concerned the same could happen in East Gippsland and the northeast regions that are already fire-ravaged.
Thunderstorms also have damaging winds and large hail that can damage property as well as heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding.
Replaced!