Overview
- Bureau of Meteorology forecasters warn of severe thunderstorms with heavy, locally intense rain across northern, central and southern Queensland on Christmas Day.
- Flood watches remain in place for western and north‑western Queensland, with additional alerts current for the NT’s Barkly, Carpentaria and Arnhem Coastal Rivers.
- Authorities advise that rivers could rise, closing roads and isolating communities, with outback mail deliveries already restricted on wet, unsealed routes.
- Recent observations include up to 95 millimetres in 24 hours in north‑west Queensland and more than 100 millimetres across the NT’s Top End.
- A long‑running heatwave warning for much of Queensland has been cancelled as cloud and rain cool temperatures, with further widespread monsoonal rain expected through the coming week.