Rain finally starts to fill gauges
THE Far North has recorded its most rainfall since October, with gauges across the region recording 7-49mm in the 24 hours to 9am yesterday.
The most rainfall was recorded at The Boulders at Babinda, with 49mm overnight on Monday, and Mount Sophia near Babinda was the secondhighest, with 31mm.
The Cairns Airport gauge recorded 23mm of rain, the Cannon Park racecourse gauge had 21mm and Copperlode Dam recorded 13mm.
Further north, the Warner St rain gauge at Port Douglas totalled 25mm of rain.
On the Cassowary Coast, the Innisfail aerodrome documented 8.6mm of rainfall.
The latest forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology said a surface trough in the Coral Sea would continue to approach the northern Queensland coast.
“Showers about the tropical east coast will continue to be enhanced as the Coral Sea trough remains near the tropical
WET RETURNING: Earlville resident Wayne Booth casts for prawns off the Cairns Esplanade during a break in the weather. east coast, and there may also be a few thunderstorms,” the bureau said.
“(There are) increasing chances of showers and storms about the Peninsula.”
The rain is expected to fall until at least tomorrow, when sunny conditions will return for the remainder of the week.
The last time the Far North copped this much of a drenching was on October 22, when 24mm of rain was recorded at the Cairns Airport, 21mm at the Cannon Park racecourse and 39mm at Copperlode Dam.
The figures pale in comparison to the monthly total from the last wet season, when 980mm of rain was recorded in the month of December alone.
September was our driest month on record since 2013, with a total of 0.4mm of rain recorded in Cairns.
Tomorrow’s maximum temperature in Cairns is expected to reach 31C before warming up to 33C for the rest of the week and into the weekend.
The 2019/20 Cyclone and Safety Guide is published in this Friday’s Cairns Post. The handy 36-page magazine features vital tips for keeping you and your family safe this cyclone season.