Weather forecast Australia: Monsoon trough bringing thunderstorms to the Top End

Monsoonal weather and severe storms are set to hit multiple states today as communities along the east coast recover from a week of floods.

A trough is generating storms, some severe, over eastern parts of Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland.

In NSW, a severe storm warning is in place for a large part of the state with damaging winds also expected to hit the Sydney Coast, Illawarra Coast, Batemans Coast and Eden Coast

The conditions come after low-lying areas of the NSW Northern Rivers to become submerged after a deluge of more than 200mm of rain in a period of about seven hours.

The city of Lismore received 476.4mm of rain in a week – more than double the average for this time of year – while several weather stations in the remote hilly hinterland of northeast NSW and southeast Queensland have received up towards 1000mm of rain over the same period.

Meanwhile, a monsoon trough over the Top End is triggering thundery showers over the northern tropics with a severe weather warning in place for Arnhem and parts of Carpentaria districts.

The system is expected to generate isolated falls of up to 150 mm over the next 24 hours and wind gusts in excess of 90km/h.

Another trough is bringing storms to inland Western Australia.

A low is bringing showers to Tasmania.

Here is your state-by-state forecast for Friday, December 18, 2020:

Showers easing, warm-to-very warm in the southeast. Mostly sunny, very warm in the northeast. Late shower, hot in the northwest. Sunny, hot in the southwest.

Brisbane has a possible shower, with a low of 24C and a top of 30C.

New South Wales and the ACT

Late thunder, warm in the northeast. Showers, cool-to-mild in the southeast. Clearing shower, mild-to-warm in the southwest. Mostly sunny, hot in the northwest.

A severe thunderstorm warning for damaging winds is in place for the Central West Slopes and Plains and parts of Central Tablelands, North West Slopes and Plains, Lower Western and Upper Western Forecast Districts.

Locations which may be affected include Orange, Mudgee, Bathurst, Dubbo, Parkes and Cobar.

Sydney has a possible thunderstorm, with a low of 21C and a top of 33C.

Canberra has a possible shower, with a low of 17C and a top of 29C.

Mostly cloudy, cool-to-cold in the southwest. Showers, cool-to-mild in the southeast. Mostly sunny, warm in the northwest. Clearing shower, warm in the northeast.

Melbourne has drizzle clearing, with a low of 14C and a top of 19C.

There’s a strong wind warning for Port Phillip, West Coast, Central Coast, Central Gippsland Coast and East Gippsland Coast.

Showers, cool in the southwest. Showers, mild in the southeast. Showers increasing, cool-to-mild in the northwest. Showers/storms, cold in the northeast.

Hobart has showers forecast, with a low of 14C and a top of 18C.

There’s a strong wind warning for Far North West Coast, Central North Coast, Banks Strait and Franklin Sound, East of Flinders Island, Lower East Coast, South East Coast and South West Coast.

Mostly cloudy, cool in the southeast. Mostly sunny, cool-to-mild in central. Mostly sunny, cool-to-mild in the west. Windy, mild-to-warm in north.

Adelaide has increasing sunshine, with a low of 12C and a top of 23C.

Mostly sunny, warm-to-very warm in the southwest and south. Windy, hot in the northwest. Mostly sunny, very warm in the northeast.

Perth will be sunny, with a low of 15C and a top of 32C.

There’s a strong wind warning for Perth Local Waters, Ningaloo Coast, Gascoyne Coast, Geraldton Coast, Lancelin Coast, Perth Coast, Bunbury Geographe Coast and Leeuwin Coast.

Showers/storms, very warm in the north. Mostly sunny, very warm-to-hot over the interior and south.

Darwin has a possible thunderstorm, with a low of 25C and a top of 32C.

There’s a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall, abnormally high tides and damaging winds for Arnhem and parts of Carpentaria districts as a monsoon trough becomes active over the top end.

During Friday night and Saturday, the tropical low is expected to move across the northern Daly District and into the southern Timor Sea with heavy rain extending into western parts of the Top End, including Darwin.

Locations which may be affected include Nhulunbuy, Borroloola, Jabiru, Maningrida, Milingimbi, Alyangula, Gunbalanya, Numbulwar and Ngukurr.

( with inputs Weatherzone and 9News Australia)