On average, Australia’s driest town, Oodnadatta, gets just 172mm of rain a year. But the small town in inland South Australia is likely to get two years’ worth of rain in a single week.

Rainfall records are likely to topple across inland areas, as rains of 150–300mm are predicted this week, following heavy rains in recent days.

Heavy rains are lashing swathes of arid central Australia, as intensely humid tropical air from the Top End is pushed south. Alice Springs is on flood watch. The Trans-Australian rail line is cut amid track washouts. The Northern Territory’s main highway is closed.

More is to come as extreme rains continue over the driest parts of Australia this week. Severe weather warnings for heavy rain have been issued for parts of Queensland, Northern Territory, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria. Intense rainfall and damaging winds from localised severe thunderstorms will lead to flash flooding. Flood warnings have been issued for rivers and streams across the entire Lake Eyre Basin. The sheer scale of this event is remarkable – and concerning.

Many remote communities will be cut off for weeks and stock losses are likely to be significant. Western Queensland is already reeling after major floods........

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