Australia Weather News

Water is flowing down dry riverbeds that are normally dry as Central Australians welcome a wet start to summer.

Todd River peaked at 1.11 metres at Anzac Oval in Alice Springs on Sunday night.

Ambalindum cattle station, about 100 kilometres north-east, recorded 18 millimetres of rain on Sunday night, taking last week's total to about 40mm.

"The clouds have been really black and heavy all around us and you can hear thunder off in the district," station manager Sarah Cook said.

"We had a helicopter do a bit of reconnaissance just around some flood crossings … he actually had to return back to the homestead because there was still sprinkles of rain about.

"It's been good — it's been so humid, so heavy, so hot, but it's been good grass-growing weather."

Curtain Springs cattle station, about 250km south-west of Alice Springs along the Lasseter Highway, received 60mm of rain to 9am on Monday morning, its sixth-highest December total.

A Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said average rainfall for December in southern parts of the Northern Territory was 20-50mm.

"Although we may not associate Central Australia with high humidity, humid periods in December have occurred many times before, and when they do occur they typically bring higher-than-average rainfall," they said.

Ms Cook said the thunderstorms so far this season had been "exceptional".

"It's been like Top End storms, almost," she said.

"That really heavy cloud, lots of thunder rolling from a distance.

"We just haven't had those heavy rainfalls like you can get in the Top End, but it's been an incredible start to the season."

'Absolutely beautiful'

John Liddle lives at Kurrku homelands, about 150km south-west of Alice Springs.

He said about 100mm or rain had fallen in the last six weeks.

"Everything's moist," he said.

"You can just smell it.

"It's unique for Central Australia at this time of year — we are used a very dry and hot climate."

"The country was looking a bit dry before this … so we really appreciate what the rain event has done for us.

"It's just made the country look absolutely beautiful."

Mr Liddle said he had been flooded in by the Palmer River, which was flowing, thick, brown and fast.

"We love the rain, there's no two ways about that," he said.

"The countryside looks absolutely green.

"It's almost too green to look at — it's almost luminous."

'Hammers down hard'

Centrefarm near Ali Curung, about 300km north of Alice Springs, has also received plenty of rain in the last few weeks.

Robbie Wills said more than 100mm of rain had fallen at the farm over the last weekend in spring.

"It comes quick and hammers down hard," he said.

"It rains at night here, so stinking hot all day — like really hot, like an oven, no wind or anything, and then in the arvo at about 6:30, seven, it rains."

Mr Wills said after the rain the mud reached halfway up the wheels of the cars.

"We use all the high roads … we've got tractors and everyone's pretty safe out here," he said.

A number of NT roads have been closed due to flooding and the BOM said more rain and slow-moving thunderstorms could be on the way.

"Locally, heavy rainfall [is] possible on Tuesday south of Ali Curung and could produce 20-50mm in a short amount of time, which may cause flash flooding," a spokesperson said.

"From Wednesday the risk of heavy rainfall eases across southern NT, including Alice Springs, as drier south-easterly winds develop.

"In fact, conditions will become dry and very hot across central Australia by the end of the week with temperatures forecast to exceed 40 degrees Celsius."