While all eyes were turned north towards the path of Tropical Cyclone Nora on Friday night, a surprise thunderstorm in Queensland’s central west delivered a welcome deluge to Tambo.
The area had been on the light side of the good falls around in early March, recording 30mm and 32.4mm on March 6 and 7, but it caught up in a big way when 164mm was recorded in just a few hours last Friday.
Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster, James Pescott, said it had caught everyone by surprise.
“The whole state was a bit unsettled weatherwise but for that storm to just sit there was a bit unusual,” he said. “Thunderstorms and what they might do are very difficult to predict.”
The downpour was widely welcomed in the town and on surrounding properties.
Tambo woke on Saturday to the sight of a full town dam and the Barcoo River flowing well on the northern outskirts, cutting access to Alpha and Springsure for some hours.
The river lapped at the bridge on the Landsborough Highway at Gillespie between Tambo and Blackall for some hours on Sunday afternoon, peaking at 6.6 metres at 8.48pm. The bridge height is 6.4m.
Minor flooding was expected along the Barcoo River during Monday and it was expected to be above the minor flood level of 2m at Blackall by Tuesday morning.
Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
