Bushfire-ravaged east coast set for drenching as 'monsoonal trough' lingers
Bushfire and drought-ravaged areas on Australia’s east coast could see up to 100mm of rainfall over the next week.
A monsoonal trough lingering above NSW’s northeast and inland Queensland is responsible for the deluge.
Heavier falls along the coast could see 200mm of rain over the week, a Weatherzone meteorologist told Yahoo News Australia.
Sydney had some rain on Monday morning before the clouds cleared, making way for a sunny and warm afternoon with temperatures climbing towards 37 degrees in the western suburbs.
NSW’s northeast will see some mild showers and storms on Tuesday and Wednesday before heavy falls roll in on Thursday and Friday.
“Thursday looks to be one of the best days with more widespread falls further inland and the heaviest falls in the northeast,” Weatherzone meteorologist Scott Morris told Yahoo News Australia.
The 80 per cent chance of showers will continue through the weekend, forcing temperatures to drop to 25.
“Over the weekend we could see some falls, but mainly along the coast,” Mr Morris said.
As of 12pm on Monday, Comboyne, southwest of Port Macquarie, had already received 100mm in the past 24 hours.
NSW SES has warned residents to be aware of flash flooding and to keep clear of creeks and storm drains.
“Unplug computers and appliances, avoid using the phone during the storm and stay indoors away from windows, and keep children and pets indoors as well,” SES staff wrote on their Facebook page.
Victoria will also see some slight showers, but not nearly as much rainfall as NSW and Queensland, Mr Morris said, adding conditions for the next week will be “quite humid”.
Bushfires continue to rage
NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman James Morris said rain fell across most fire grounds on Sunday evening, but warned there was still a lot of active fires across the state.
As of 9.30am on Monday, there were 61 fires burning across NSW, with 22 uncontained.
All are at the advice level.
Although there are no fire bans in place for NSW, a southerly change is expected to bring drier conditions on Monday, keeping the 2000 firefighters in the field today on their toes.
“We do have widespread, very high fire dangers for eastern and northern NSW. This will bring challenging conditions for firefighters working to contain a number of large fires across the state,” the NSW RFS said.
It follows a difficult day on Saturday where multiple blazes flared up sparking fears of property loss.
Strong winds and high temperatures on Saturday night pushed the massive 177,000-hectare Border fire north towards Bega Valley while three separate blazes burning southwest of the region merged into one.
Bega Valley Shire Council Mayor Kristy McBain said an unconfirmed number of homes were lost in Wyndham and Tantawangalo in the blazes.
She said the losses would push the total number of properties destroyed in the Bega Valley to more than 400.
The NSW RFS said there had been reports of property loss, but building impact assessment teams hadn't yet been able to access firegrounds.
There are also unconfirmed reports five structures were lost when the out-of-control Clear Range blaze, created from embers that spread from the ACT's large Orroral Valley fire, flared up on Saturday night.
An unconfirmed number of homes were also lost in the Bumbalong Valley from the Orroral Valley fire.
with AAP
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