Monsoonal rain in the Top End has seen flood warnings issued as Queenslanders who were hit by Tropical Cyclone Jasper brace for more rain.
This comes as Western Australia faces a heatwave, a cyclone forms off the Cocos Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean, and the potential for another develops in the Coral Sea.
Let's take a look at what is happening and the forecast for the coming days.
Monsoon brings 600mm in a week
An active monsoon has seen more than 600 millimetres of rain recorded in seven days at Wadeye airport on the west coast of the Top End and up to 200mm in the northern part of the Northern Territory.
The monsoon trough lies near the base of the Top End, and according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), a tropical low over land west of Daly Waters will deepen further as it moves east-south-east over the next few days.
BOM meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said while it is the wet season, the totals recorded across the territory were widespread and significant.
"Even though it is usual to see these really high amounts of rain, it doesn't mean they're not significant," she said.
"They are producing river rises and flash flooding in those areas, and even though it's close to average, it's certainly still having a significant impact for the communities in those areas."
The rain presents the risk of both flash and riverine flooding, with flood watch warnings issued for parts of the Top End and central Northern Territory.
On Tuesday, BOM issued a flood watch warning for the north-western parts of the NT, the Victoria River and a minor food warning for the Daly River.
Flood watch warnings were also issued for the Tully River and a minor flood warning for the Murray River in Queensland.
North Queenslanders brace after TC Jasper
The monsoon has brought heavy rain to Queensland, with a small area on the North Tropical Coast and Tablelands district receiving more than 400mm for the week ending January 15, according to BOM.
Ms Bradbury said heavy local rain could continue in the coming days for Far North Queensland, particularly across the Cape York Peninsula and the Gulf Coast.
"Many of these areas were significantly impacted by Tropical Cyclone Jasper and have just gone through the clean-up and recovery period for that, and unfortunately, the monsoon is likely to bring further rainfall over the coming days," she said.
According to BOM, a tropical low is developing in the Coral Sea and is expected to strengthen over the weekend and likely become a tropical cyclone.
"There is a chance that the system will develop into a severe tropical cyclone early next week," BOM said.
"There are no direct impacts expected to the Queensland coast during the next seven days."
When will the monsoonal rain ease?
It turns out it's a tricky question.
Ms Bradbury said the seven-day forecast showed there was a continued risk of rain showers and thunderstorms across the Tropical North on account of the monsoon.
The long-range forecast shows there is a high chance of median rainfall, which suggests the wet weather will persist.
However, Ms Bradbury said the long-range forecast suggests that it is more likely to be drier than wetter due to a low chance of exceeding median rainfall.
"Hopefully this is telling us that we should get some sort of easing in those monsoonal conditions after a week or two," she said.
"However, there are so many elements which can feed into that and change that narrative as it's developing because it really just depends on where the monsoon trough tracks, how intense any rainfall is when it develops and whether we see further tropical lows developing within the monsoon trough."
Rain for Eastern states, but not from the monsoon
Other weather systems are forecast to bring rain and storms to parts of Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.
"Essentially, a trough is moving through and it's going to bring us a lot of rain and the risk of severe thunderstorms over the coming days," Ms Bradbury said.
"It's not the monsoon this far south, but it is tapping into some tropical moisture from further north, and that's really what's giving this rain the potential to be so heavy."
BOM senior meteorologist Angus Hines said widespread wet weather was expected on Wednesday around Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, Canberra and parts of southern Queensland.
He said it was expected the heaviest falls would likely impact north-eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales, with the potential for several hours of rainfall leading to flash and riverine flooding.
Mr Hines said severe thunderstorms in Central and Northern Victoria and parts of northern Tasmania could bring quick, but severe weather on Wednesday.
On Tuesday watch and act flood warnings were issued for the Bellinger River in New South Wales and for Glenreagh and Coutts Crossing.
For all the latest warnings visit ABC Emergency.
Heatwave in WA set to ease
On Tuesday, Perth is forecast to reach 41 degrees Celsius and with it dangerous fire conditions before dropping to a maximum of 32C on Wednesday.
A bushfire emergency warning has been issued for people in the town of Wongan Hills north-east of Perth.
A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Perth on Tuesday as a low-pressure trough combined with an unstable air mass.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services said the alert had been upgraded due to lighting strikes in the area and increased fire activity.
Ms Bradbury said the heatwave was caused by a common weather pattern that was often referred to as a West Coast trough.
"Essentially, the change in temperature depends on exactly where that West Coast trough is lying," she said.
"If it's lying to the west of Perth, so closer to the ocean, we're likely to see really hot northerly to north-easterly winds bringing that hot dry air down from further north, allowing that heat to build over the Perth area.
"When it shifts to the east, we get some slightly milder westerly winds coming in over the metro area, and that does bring some relief."
Tropical cyclone forms to the north-west of the Cocos Keeling Islands
A tropical cyclone has formed 455 kilometres to the north-west of the Cocos Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean.
According to BOM, Tropical Cyclone Anggrek is a category one, sustaining winds of 75 kilometres per hour near its centre and wind gusts of up to 100kph.
It will likely build to a category two system before moving to the south on Wednesday and Tuesday, BOM said.
"While there is large uncertainty in the movement of TC Anggrek on the weekend, it is currently forecast to start weakening by then," BOM said in its tropical climate update.
The Australian Federal Police have issued a Blue Alert for TC Anggrek, with all residents and tourists on the island advised to watch for warnings.
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2024-01-16 06:17:52Z
CBMiYGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDI0LTAxLTE2L3dlYXRoZXItbW9uc29vbi1oZWF0LXJhaW4tY3ljbG9uZS10aHVuZGVyc3Rvcm1zLzEwMzMyNDkwNNIBKGh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMDMzMjQ5MDQ
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