A number of Brisbane area roads were still shut down Tuesday in the aftermathof flooding rain that pounded southeastern Queensland, Australia, since latelast week.Media reports showed scenes of swamped homes, roads and cars awash and boatsdrifting over normally dry land.
The heaviest rain fell between Saturday and Monday. A break in the rain allowedrivers to begin returning to their banks on Tuesday.
Rainfall of 8 to as much as 16 inches within three to four days triggeredwidespread urban and stream flooding, also swelling bigger rivers into fullflood. Areas to the north and west of Brisbane city center were hardest hit.
View Larger MapImage:Google Maps. Shows greater Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.At Brisbane Airport, rainfall as of Tuesday was over 10 inches, more than 9inches of which had fallen within four days. Yet normal rainfall for the wholeof October would be 2.5 inches.
High coastal winds accompanied the cloudbursts triggering pounding surf andbeach erosion along the southeast Queensland shore.
The trigger for the rain and wind was a storm over the nearby Coral Sea whichwhipped up strong easterly winds over a broad fetch of open sea. Lifting ofthis wet easterly wind flow by the Great Dividing Range helped to wring out thedownpours.
Southeastern Queensland will get a break from the soaking rain through at leastThursday before a another shot at rain arises on Friday.
Story by Kirstie Hettinga, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer, and Jim Andrews,Senior Forecaster.
