New figures have revealed that 2024 delivered Brisbane its highest number of rainy days in 134 years.
And the weather is following Queensland into the new year, as parts of the state are being warned to brace for more intense falls this weekend.
In north Queensland heavy falls overnight led to flooding as heaving humidity gave way to a deluge, partially submerging a wakeboard park in Mackay.
The clean-up started early this morning but it’s become an all too familiar routine for the business.
“Only two weeks ago it went under as well,” Ben Mihan told 9News.
“They’ve just finished doing all the clean up and there again this morning to another clean up.”
The Mackay resident described the downpour as “really heavy and relentless” and said he was concerned about the safety of cars.
“It was really loud on the roof and I kept checking outside to make sure that the cars in the carpark weren’t going under,” Mihan told 9News.
Pieter Claassen from the Bureau of Meteorology said the stats back up Mihan’s description.
“About 80 millimetres recorded in an hour over southern Mackay and we also saw rainfall up to 118 millimetres in the 24 hours to 9am this morning around Mackay,” he told 9News.
Parts of central and north Queensland are feeling the full effects of a coastal trough – and it’s not over yet.
More rain is expected between Yeppoon and Cooktown tonight and over the weekend.
“The main risk with these cells would be heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding,” Claassen warned.
Flood warnings remain in place for the Bernard River.
About 25,000 megalitres of water has been released from Wivenhoe Dam, with the gates now closed.
New figures reveal Brisbane had 160 days of rain last year – the most since 1890.
And the weather has carried over into the new year but not for long with a reprieve on the way for the south-east of the state.
Showers and storms are expected to clear over the weekend, making way for more blue skies.
The silver lining to the recent weather has been temperatures of one or two degrees below average across south-eastern parts of the state but these will slowly creep up again over the next few days.
