00:00Hello, Sarah from the Bureau with an update on the wet weather developing for central
00:04and eastern parts of the country, with a wet weekend in particular for eastern parts of
00:09New South Wales on the cards.
00:12But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's take a look at the radar data.
00:16So this is from this morning through until now, and we can see these hit and miss showers
00:21extending all the way along the east coast from the south coast of New South Wales all
00:25the way up into Queensland.
00:28Now in the last 24 hours, the heaviest rainfall totals were around 50mm at Coffs Harbour and
00:33also about the New South Wales-Queensland coastal border.
00:38Now these showers and cloudy conditions could bring a further daily rainfall of 15-30mm
00:45each day this week as we move towards the weekend.
00:48But it's the weekend where things will really start to ramp up.
00:52But before I talk about that, let's shift the focus into central parts of the country
00:57where we've got this cloud that's really just showing us that there's moisture in the atmosphere
01:02and we have an approaching upper-level trough that's moving into the area to bring isolated
01:08showers and storms developing about southwest Queensland this afternoon, pushing into the
01:12Northern Territory and also South Australia as well.
01:16But it's tomorrow, on Thursday, that these showers will really start to consolidate into
01:21a rain band with widespread rain and embedded thunderstorms, and the potential for heavy
01:26rainfall totals about the North East Pastoral District of South Australia.
01:31Now on Friday, the focus of the heavier rainfall will shift into the interior of New South Wales,
01:37however widespread rain will also move into southern parts of Queensland as well.
01:43Now there's already moderate flooding occurring about the Warrego River of New South Wales,
01:48so any further rainfall over those swollen catchments will respond really quickly, so
01:52residents within that region should stay up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings.
01:57Now on Friday afternoon as well, the coastal showers about New South Wales will start to
02:02increase and tend towards rain.
02:05And it's on Saturday, however, that that upper-level trough will continue tracking eastwards and
02:10combine with the coastal trough with a ramping up of the showers along and rain along the
02:16New South Wales coast.
02:18Now catchments along the coast there are already really wet from recent rain, so this increases
02:25the chance of flooding, but at this stage it's too difficult to say the exact location
02:30or the severity of the flooding, but we're keeping a really close eye on it, and residents
02:34across eastern parts of New South Wales should stay up to date with the latest forecasts
02:39and warnings, and also flood watches may be issued as we move closer towards the weekend.
02:45Now on Sunday, those showers, rain and storms will continue about coastal parts but start
02:50to contract eastwards, so it does look it's going to be like a really wet weekend, particularly
02:56for eastern parts of New South Wales and possibly even southeastern parts of Queensland as well.
03:02So how much rainfall are we talking?
03:06Well this is the accumulated rainfall total from now through until Sunday evening, and
03:11we can see that the heaviest rainfall totals, these purple areas here, are about the southern
03:15half of the New South Wales coast, and there's also a few spots further inland, but there's
03:21the potential about the coast between 100 to 150 mm to be accumulated between now and
03:26Sunday, and we can't rule out even isolated totals in excess of 200 mm.
03:32So if you or anyone you know lives within these areas, it's important that they stay
03:37up to date with the Bureau's forecasts and warnings via the Bureau website, app and social
03:42media, because this is an evolving weather situation, and as always, listen to advice
03:47from your local emergency services.
03:50Bye for now.
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