Southeast Queensland lashed by heavy rain, flood warnings issued with more storms on the way

Parts of southeast Queensland have been drenched in a torrential downpour, with emergency services warning of continued flooding as over 100mm of rain fell in parts of Brisbane overnight.

On Tuesday morning, residents in Banyo in Brisbane’s north awoke to floodwaters cutting access to major roads out of the suburb, with police warning residents not to attempt to drive through the deluge.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Southeast Queensland smashed by heavy rain.

“There are no good reasons to drive through floodwaters. If it’s flooded, forget it,” police said.

Nudgee Rd is closed between Raubers Rd and Tufnell Rd due to flooding.

“Showers and storms across the east coast of Queensland have caused the most significant rain accumulation across the country overnight,” Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) senior meteorologist Angus Hines said.

“In the 12 hours up to 6.30am (AEDT) Cedar Creek Rd in Brisbane had 127mm of rain, with other areas around both Brisbane and Maryborough getting around 100mm.”

SES crews have responded to almost 80 call-outs across Queensland over the last 24 hours, including a swift water rescue in Griffin for a person trapped in a car in floodwater.

The majority of calls were for sandbags and tarps on the Fraser Coast, Sunshine Coast and Brisbane.

The wet weather is set to continue with widespread showers, rain and thunderstorms and locally heavy falls predicted from Mackay down to Brisbane on Tuesday, with minor flooding likely at Gympie, Tiaro, Miva, and Dagun Pocket from Tuesday evening.

However, BOM said predicted rises and higher flood levels were possible with thunderstorm activity.

A number of flood warnings and watches are in place for the southern Wide Bay and Burnett and the south coast catchments, including a moderate flood warning for the Mary River downstream of Gympie, and a minor flood warning for the Brisbane River to the Wivenhoe Dam.

“The ground is wet and the river catchments are saturated for parts of southeast Queensland meaning rivers and creeks are likely to respond quickly to further rainfall, increasing the risk of both flash flooding and riverine flooding,” Hines said.

“A low pressure system off the central Queensland coast, near Mackay, and an associated coastal trough is bringing a very moist and unstable flow onto the Queensland coast.

“The heaviest rainfall totals are expected to be around the coast south of Mackay.”

Meanwhile, an extreme and severe heatwave warning is in place for parts of inland Queensland including Mt Isa and Cloncurry.

Mt Isa is expected to reach 44C on Tuesday, Richmond could reach 42C and Urandangi may hit 46C.

Possible Cyclone Threat

Amid the weather chaos in Queensland, forecasters are monitoring the development of a tropical low off the Gulf of Carpentaria in the state’s far north.

BOM said tropical low 06U could form along the Cape York Peninsula and move into the Coral Sea during the week.

“(A low) may form along the trough over the eastern Arafura Sea or northern Gulf of Carpentaria in the middle of the week,” BOM said.

“The formation of the low remains highly uncertain; however, should it develop, it is expected to track across Cape York Peninsula and move into the Coral Sea during the latter part of the week.”

Forecasters said the likelihood of 06U developing into a tropical cyclone is rated as low from Wednesday, with slight increase in probabilities from Friday onwards.

“Communities across tropical north Queensland should monitor forecasts for updated information on the formation and movement of the tropical low,” they said.

-With AAP