Barcy mayor urges people to restrict travel as rain closes roads

Since December 23, some parts of the Alpha region have received more than 120mm, while around Muttaburra there have been reports of 50mm and more in the past 24 hours.

That comes on top of good storms further north around Prairie that is bringing water down Prairie, Cornish and Landsborough Creeks.

Cr Dillon said both police officers and council staff in the region had already been called on to assist non-local travellers who became stuck on roads as a result of the rain.

"With more storm rain forecast over the next few days, can I please ask that non-essential travel be restricted or eliminated," he said on social media on Monday afternoon. ""Please plan your trip; enquire about both the road and creek crossings before you leave, and don't risk unsealed roads."

He said the rain had caught a few by surprise but with so little vegetation to hold water up, the run-off was extreme.

Muttaburra publican Sue Wyton, a born and bred local, said while the small town situated between Longreach and Hughenden was about to be completely cut off by floodwater and boggy roads, locals were enjoying the spectacle of the rivers rising.

"There was big rain further north - places like Birracania had well over 100mm and at Muttaburra we've had around 105mm since the rain event started on Tuesday," she said.

"It comes in and rains in sheets, then the sun comes out for a bit before it starts again.

"But it's not going everywhere - some have only had 4mm."

By Monday afternoon the Landsborough and Thomson Rivers were at bridge level and still rising at Muttaburra, and most of the town's population had been down to inspect the progress.

According to a Flinders Shire Council road report for Monday, the roads closed by 9am due to wet and boggy conditions were the Torrens Creek-Aramac Road, the Prairie-Muttaburra Road and the Hughenden-Muttaburra Road, plus the Flinders River Byways, thanks to flooding at the Glendower Crossing.

The RACQ website also listed the Muttaburra-Bowen Downs Road closed at Cornish Creek, plus the Cramsie-Muttaburra Road, the Eastmere and Ballyneety Roads in the Aramac district, the Ilfracombe-Aramac Road, and the Richmond-Winton Road.

Among those listing good falls on the Who Got the Rain Facebook page were Wal and Trina Gleeson with 122mm on Christmas Day, which will flow into the Belyando River, and William Bowyer who recorded 110mm at Alpha on December 25-26.

"It's the best Christmas present you could ask for," he said.

Irene Clews, Myagah, Alpha tipped out 130mm while Dale and Rachel Bryce had 134mm for two days.

On Monday, Ky Burton reported in with 80mm at Saltern Creek north west of Barcaldine.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Matt Marshall said the event had been triggered by warm moist air moving in from the north, affecting large parts of western Queensland including the Channel Country, western parts of the Central West, and the Northern Goldfields and Upper Flinders.

By 9am on Monday morning their gauges at Julia Creek had recorded 45mm while Milroy at Quilpie had 79mm.

"With these kinds of storms they can drop a lot of rain in a hurry," he said, saying there were warnings out for flash flooding.

It's a warning Barcaldine mayor Sean Dillon has urged travellers to heed.

"With some creeks and rivers full or near full, please ensure that road signs are obeyed and if it's flooded; forget it," he said.

"While we all welcome the rain, please don't risk it or place extra pressure on rescue personnel.

"Hopefully our drought stricken graziers can continue to receive more good falls over the coming week."

With the Bureau of Meteorology telling him to expect falls of 40 to 70mm each day for the next two days, and isolated falls of 100mm north of a line from Longreach to Alpha, Cr Dillon said they were only one good fall north of Muttaburra or Aramac away from being disaster declared.

"It depends on how the storms get themselves together," he said. "We are still at stand-down but if we escalate, it will be because of the weather."

Mr Marshall said storms were likely to continue on Tuesday in western and central west regions, beginning to move east into the Maranoa and parts of the Darling Downs plus central Queensland on Wednesday.

He said it was not the beginning of the much-forecast monsoon.

"These kinds of thunderstorms are conducive to heavy dumping and 50km away, nothing," he said.

West of Longreach could expect a drying trend into the new year, with storms pushing east towards the coast, along with storm potential in the Darling Downs.