Australia is being “hit with a mix of everything” as parts of Queensland flood, while fires threaten towns in Victoria and snow is forecast across three states, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
Emergency warnings were in place for fires burning in Victoria’s Grampians national park on Saturday, with residents from Watgania to Halls Gap being told to evacuate.
The BoM also issued a severe weather warning for parts of Queensland, including the Herbert and Lower Burdekin, Central Coast and Whitsundays districts, as heavy rainfall has forced highways and airports to shut.
Roads were flooded and a major highway closed after a tropical low brought torrential showers to north Queensland, with widespread falls of up to 100mm.
A number of locations between Cairns and Mackay endured more than 200mm in 24 hours, triggering a string of flood warnings, including in Townsville, where residents near the Bohle River and Bluewater Creek were told to prepare to leave on Friday night.
Holidaymakers have been urged to rethink their travel plans or expect delays because of road closures, with the Bruce Highway among those affected.
BoM meteorologist Angus Hines said Townsville received 300mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am Saturday, and while Proserpine recorded 250mm.
He said there was still some chance of thunderstorms later on Saturday, but that rain would not be as heavy.
“The main driver of the rainfall, which was a low-pressure system that was crossing Northern Queensland, actually moved off the country and into the Coral Sea, where it is now,” Hines said.
In Victoria, about 28,000 hectares of the Grampians national park had been razed by Saturday morning, despite firefighters’ best efforts to control the blaze.
Residents in nearby towns, including Bellfield, Halls Gap, Lake Fyans, Pomonal, Mafeking and Watgania have been told to leave immediately.
Emergency services said firefighters had been able to slow the spread of the fire, but warned it would not be contained for weeks and the situation could change at any time.
Hines said the fire would continue to burn for several days.
“[There’s still] a little bit of wind across the fire there, giving the crews that are battling those blazes plenty to contend with over the next few days.”
Despite this, he said there was a chance of snow for parts of Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales between now and Christmas.
This includes at Victoria’s Falls Creek, where the BoM has forecast “snow falling above 1,500 metres” on Monday, and in nearby Mt Hotham and in the NSW alpine region.
“Very late Sunday night and early on Monday morning, there’s a cold front crossing southeastern parts of the country,” he said.
“For many people, it’ll bring some much cooler winds up from the south across Tasmania, Victoria, southern South Australia [and] southern New South Wales, and it will bring a risk of some brief snowfall to higher parts of the country.”
He said it was not likely to be “a big accumulation” of snow, but “it’s an odd time of year to be talking snow at all”.
“We’re getting a little taste of everything in different parts.”
Elevated fire dangers are also forecast for the south of Western Australia with dry thunderstorms possible for western parts.
Heatwave conditions are also persisting across the state’s midwest affecting Mingenew and Coral Bay, as well as the Kimberley and Pilbara regions.
According to long-range BoM forecasts, above-average temperatures are predicted for the 2024-25 summer in many parts of the country.
