Parts of South East Australia, including the recent bush fire affected areas within Victoria, have received some of their heaviest January rainfall in years. Some places have recorded around 100mm, that’s 4 inches, of rainfall within just 48 hours.
The news comes after severe bush fires brought catastrophic damage to some of the nearby areas. Whilst the risk of further bush fires hasn’t completely gone away, the recent rainfall is a very good thing. It will help reduce any further bush fire development in the near future.
Lets flush it down smoke#Australia #thunderstorms #AirQuality #sydneysmoke #Rainfall #sydneyrain pic.twitter.com/XoIg8X91jY
— A-r-u-n (@Bondirocks) January 16, 2020
The Forecast
Low pressure is expected to remain close to those areas which have been so badly affected by heavy rainfall recently. This means that further rainfall can be expected in the coming days. This should help to reduce the escalation of any further bush fire activity. The following precipitation map courtesy of Meteociel.fr shows that some very heavy rain showers are possible this weekend across parts of the east coast of Australia.
Whilst the rainfall is clearly a positive, overall, the dry ground is at risk of landslides from such heavy rain. This is because the dry ground could be “broken”, allowing the rainfall to exploit any slipfaces that could have formed. This means that people should be on the watch for potential landslides in the coming days.
It could also turn briefly hotter during the middle part of next week, around the 22nd to the 24th. However, there is little indication of a return to the consistent hot and windy weather of recent weeks. That doesn’t mean that there’s a risk of further bushfires. Vic emergency is a great website to keep updated on any warnings issued in Victoria. Stay safe.