Congrats, Once Again, To Brisbane!

It's been raining like no one's business these last few days, and fortunately some of that rain penetrated a few miles inland to the water reservoirs: SEQWater totals are now at 63%! The amazing comeback continues!

But, of course, with rain comes problems. Big Problems:

One of Brisbane's busiest arteries, Bowen Bridge Road, has been cut by flooding, creating major traffic problems.

The heaviest rainfalls in almost a decade dumped more than 300mm on the southeast, causing flash floods and chaos across the region.

Roads are closed, schools are sending students home, pupils at one school surrounded by water are likely to spend the night there, and emergency services have been stretched by a series of rescues, as motorists are caught out by rapidly rising floodwaters.

Police are urging people to avoid non-essential travel if possible, given the treacherous weather conditions and widespread flooding.

On the Gold Coast, there are reports of barbecues and furniture being blown off high-rise balconies and one officer worker was knocked unconscious when an awning blew through his window.

... Windows were blown out of some buildings on the coast - with the Bureau of Meteorology warning of 100km/h gusts - and police sealed off part of central Surfers to ensure tourists and locals were not hit by flying debris.

...In the 24 hours to 9am today, Beerburrum recorded 302mm, its wettest 24-hour period in 17 years. In the same time period, Redcliffe received 151mm while Brisbane city picked up 89mm, its wettest 24-hour period in eight years.

Since 9am, the deluge has continued. Redcliffe has recorded a further 40mm in the last two hours, while Brisbane has received another 22mm.

...The rain is being caused by a low pressure system has formed just off the southeast Queensland coast. This low, combined with extremely high moisture levels and favourable upper atmospheric conditions, has led to the torrential rain says weatherzone.com.au meteorologist Matt Pearce said.

"At the moment, we are seeing the focus of the heaviest rain in the region from Brisbane down to the Gold Coast, extending inland as far as Toowoomba. This rain will gradually extend further south through the rest of the day."

"Daily rainfall totals well in excess of 100mm will be commonplace, and we are expecting falls over the next few days to exceed 500mm in some locations. This will obviously lead to a significant flood threat across southeast Queensland through the rest of this week."

One positive from the downpour is the effect on Brisbane’s water storages. A 3.4 per cent rise was recorded in the total dam storage level overnight, with today’s rain expected to see that level rise even further.

"Heavy rain will continue across the region tomorrow before the main focus shifts south into northeast New South Wales on Friday. However, heavy showers will persist right through the weekend," Pearce said.

...Mr Wedd said winds of up to 90-100kmh were expected in exposed southern coastal areas, creating six to seven metres seas at their highest and the risk of heavy beach erosion.

"Conditions will be particularly dangerous and we're recommending people stay out of the water," he said.