Thargomindah's wettest day since records began...

Thursday March 05, 2020

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Ex-cyclone Esther is combining with an upper trough to bring days of rain, with grass shoots starting to turn dustbowls green.

Rivers are experiencing major floods and homesteads are cut off as records tumble across the region.

Thargomindah airport has had about 128mm since 9:00am yesterday, breaking its record for a 24-hour-period, which was set in 1999, when tracking began there, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said.

The town has also broken the record for the most rain in two days and the most rain for March, with 201mm, even though it is only five days into the month.

The wettest March had previously been in 2010 with 199mm, BOM forecaster Felim Hanniffy said.

The iconic outback town of Birdsville has recorded 125mm over two days and yesterday was its coldest March day on record.

Its daytime temperature only reached 21.6 degrees, Hanniffy said.

‘Wife cannot return home’

At Picarilli Station near Thargomindah, Anthony Glasson’s property has been cut off and his wife is unable to return home after 214mm fell in two days.

He said he hopes it is enough for grass to grow in the drought-declared area.

“The country is very bare, I’ll be very excited to see what it does in the coming months,” he said.

“The whole town just has a really excited vibe to it — when it’s been as dry as it has for so long, it just really lifts spirits.

“I’ve gone back through some record books here and the last time there’s any sort of an event is … 1990 and 1991.

“I’d say in the two days I’ve only heard two rumbles of thunders.

“It’s just been monsoonal-type rain set in and it’ll just rain consistently for two or three hours and then let up, then six or seven hours later it’ll go again.”

Grass taking over dust bowls

In Boulia in Queensland’s northwest, Shelley Norton, who is on the Boulia Camel Races Committee said she was happy to see the rain.

She said the town, which is currently isolated due to water over roads, is enjoying the slow pace and cooler weather.

Grass is already popping up after 120mm of rain in the past two days.

“It’s amazing for out here — it’s beautiful and green, the grass is growing,” she said.

“It’s going to be amazing come races time.

“The dustbowl is gone.”

‘Children see rain for the first time’

Mariah Powyer and her family have become isolated after three days of rain at Penaroo Station at Eulo, in south-west Queensland.

“We do have enough food and supplies but we’re slowly running out,” she said.

Powyer’s eight-month-old Riley is seeing rain for the first time, his older brother Dean, 3, cannot get enough of it.

Dean rode around the paddocks on a quadbike with his mother to check out the dam, which is now full.

“Dean thinks the rain, mud and driving in it all is amazing,” she said.

“He keeps asking us to go outside to play in the rain with the dogs.”

– ABC / Kelly Butterworth, Craig Fitzsimmons and staff

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