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'Severe' warning ahead of week-long deluge for most of Australia

It’s going to be a wet week ahead for most of the country, with the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warning heavy rainfall could have “significant impacts”.

Parts of Queensland are expected to bear the brunt first, with wild weather lashing parts of the state on Sunday ahead the deluge.

"Severe storms are likely in the Balonne shire and Goondiwindi region, more broadly possible over southern inland Queensland," the BOM Queensland Tweeted.

"Main risks with severe storms tomorrow will be heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding and damaging wind gusts."

A radar image of the rain across Australia. Source: BOM
Rain is predicted to set in across the country for a week. Source: BOM

Storms are expected to intensify on Monday with forecasts of damaging wind gusts amid fears heavy rain could lead to flash flooding.

“Much of the east, north and interior will see widespread rain and storms, particularly eastern NSW and southeast QLD. Rain could have significant impacts,” a Tweet from the weather bureau warned.

All capitals except Perth should anticipate showers or storms, the BOM said.

The wild weather is being caused by a trough and rain band heading from the west to east, which is linking up with moisture that is already soaking the outback.

It is also due to a so-called negative phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), which refers to the state of sea surface temperatures across the tropical Indian Ocean.

There are three phases of the IOD — positive, negative and neutral. On average, each phase lasts three to five years.

During the negative phase, water is unusually warm near Indonesia and abnormally cold near the Horn of Africa, which means increased rainfall for Australia.

Rear view of smart causal male holding umbrella and walking along the park in rainy urban city.
The Bureau of Meteorology is expected to announce a La Nina in the coming days. Source: Getty Images

It’s the first negative dipole event since 2016 — when rainfall records were broken between June and August, contributing to extensive flooding including in inland NSW.

A previous climate outlook forecast above average rainfall for the NT, SA, Queensland, NSW, Victoria and eastern Tasmania until December.

It's predicted the wet weather could last into the new year.

Stormy weather here to stay

A La Niña weather phenomenon is expected to be announced by the BOM in coming days.

La Niña is known to increase the risk of severe weather events in the northern and eastern states, increasing the chance of higher rainfall by 70 per cent.

It follows updated modelling from the BOM, which raised the La Niña outlook status to alert level.

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