Hah!  The BoM predicted a day ago that we would have no more rain until April or May

So we have just had tonight the most colossal downpour in Brisbane.  It came down like a waterfall for a solid hour.  It reminded me of my boyhood in tropical Innisfail, where they measured their annual rainfall in yards -- 7 yards, usually.

I don't know how widely it rained but I would be surprised if there are any bushfires still burning anywhere near Brisbane.  It was such a powerful downpour that there must have been a big weather system behind it, suggesting that the rain would have been widespread.  New Zealand had heavy weather -- planes grounded etc. -- a few days ago -- so maybe that system reached us.

When the rivers drain all the catchments, Lake Manchester will be full and even Wivenhoe will be up a few inches. Lake Moogerah too. Both needed it. No water rationing for Brisbane! Sydney eat your heart out.

We did have a blackout where I am.  There was a huge crack of thunder about 10 minutes into the storm and everything went out.  I had started putting up my blogs a bit early as I foresaw a blackout.  So I had finished that only seconds before the blackout.  The electricty workers were good.  The power was back on only 45 minutes after the end of the storm


UPDATE BELOW:

Brisbane smashed in powerful rainstorm

Brisbane has been hit by a powerful rainstorm overnight, with more than 100 millimetres [4 inches in the old money] falling in the space of an hour.

The storm passed through Darling Downs and the Scenic Rim before hitting Brisbane and Moreton Bay just after 10pm.

The downpour caused flash flooding as drains struggled to cope with the amount of water gushing through them and almost 2000 homes lost power at the height of the storm.

There was localised flooding at Ipswich Road, Stanley Street, the Pacific Motorway near east Brisbane and on Duke and Vulture Street in Wooloongabba. Some streets in Annerley were also affected.

At Brisbane Airport. Wind gusts hit 80km/h with some flights being diverted as a result.

There were no significant reports of damage to property.

SOURCE  

Further update here


The most recent forecast below:

No rain ’til April, BoM tells ministers

11:41AM DECEMBER 11, 2019

There will be no relief for drought-ravaged regions over the summer, with Bureau of Meteorology officials telling a meeting of state and federal ministers there would be no significant rain until at least April.

The ministers gathered in Moree, in NSW’s northwest, to discuss the best strategies to combat the enduring drought.

Federal Drought and Water Resources Minister David Littleproud vowed to work with drought co-ordinator-general Shane Stone by February to cut bureaucratic red tape so desperate farmers did not have to make separate state and federal applications for assistance.

Mr Littleproud said he was hopeful states would do more to assist farmers after South Australia announced on Tuesday that it would give rebates on council rates and pastoral leases for drought-affected farmers.

“NSW, Queensland and Victoria are looking very lean for rain and below-average rainfall through summer and heading into next winter,” NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said of the BoM briefing. “The outlook is nothing for NSW anywhere near drought-breaking until April-May next year.”

Mr Littleproud pledged to work with the states on ensuring there was not duplication between state and federal drought assistance co-funding programs and ensuring information contained in a state application could be used in federal appli­cations without farmers needing to apply again.

Coming into the meeting, Mr Littleproud had effectively named and shamed states he thought needed to do more on drought assistance, one of which was South Australia.

On Tuesday, SA Premier Steven Marshall announced a $21m package, including a 50 per cent rebate for council rates or pastoral lease rent in 2019-20 and 2020-21 for farmers on the farm household allowance.

“We now have South Australia on the hook,” Mr Littleproud said. “I know other states will look closely at that.

“We have also agreed to make sure we work together to streamline process and … if there’s duplication, that can be taken away. We have said by February we have charged Shane Stone with getting an approach with the states.”

Mr Littleproud scuppered a plan by Mr Marshall for an income protection insurance scheme to be facilitated by the commonwealth, sources at Moree told The Australian.

Mr Littleproud is said to have told state ministers he was not about “bankrolling multinational corporations”.

Mr Marshall, who organised the meeting of state and federal drought ministers, called for “commonwealth, state and territory governments to come to the table and back a national income protection scheme to insure farmers against drought”.

In July, the NSW government announced it was committing $2m to partner with the National Farmers Federation to explore insurance models and called on other governments to sign up.

Mr Marshall said he hoped the federal government could be talked around on the insurance scheme. He said of the current system where farmers were having to put in separate state and federal claims for assistance: “If it pisses me off, how do you think it is for farmers busting their arse feeding cattle.”

SOURCE