Australia Weather News

Rain and storms swept most of the Northern Territory at the weekend, with parts of central Australia receiving their first drops of rain in months.

Rain continued to fall across much of the region on Monday, bringing relief to cattle stations and a steady flow of water in Alice Springs's Todd River.

Centralian pastoralists were very happy to find themselves stuck indoors, with many receiving their first significant rainfall this summer.

At Alcoota Station, about 115 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs, the homestead received 209 millimetres over three days.

Station manager Ellen Easy said it was more rain than the station received throughout all of 2025, and said she could not get back to the homestead until late Sunday evening due to flooded creeks.

"I was so happy to record that. We're absolutely stoked on what we've received," Ms Easy said.

Just below the NT border with South Australia, about 300 kilometres south of Alice Springs, De Rose Hill Station received 164mm in 48 hours at its homestead.

De Rose Hill's Brittany Jericho said rainfall totals varied across the station, but any wet weather was a big relief.

"If it didn't rain with this weather, then we're looking at making some plans and changing some of our mustering and trucking plans," she said.

"But we will have to change them a bit in a different direction now and wait for the water to dry up."

Challenges for travellers

While the rain has been appreciated by pastoralists, it has caused significant delays to travel between Alice Springs and remote communities.

Alice Springs resident Braydon Weily spent six hours on Sunday unsuccessfully searching for a route home from the remote community of Papunya after the 1,035-kilometre-long Tanami Road closed due to flooding.

He said people had been caught out at Charlie Creek, a typically dry river which crossed the Tanami Road.

"On the Papunya side, we sort of had … three or four road trains, a couple of station vehicles, and locals from Yuendumu, Papunya … trying to get into town," Mr Weily said.

"And then you could see across the creek it was the same on the other side, it was pretty backed up a while."

Damage to remote road 

Rain caused substantial damage on the Santa Teresa Road, a mostly dirt road south of Alice Springs.

Atyenhenge Atherre Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Ellie Kamara said the road had been "completely decimated".

"The whole top soil, all the top gravel, sitting on top of the bedrock, has been washed away," Ms Kamara said.

"And there's massive potholes."

She said social and medical services to the community would likely be postponed for the week.

"Renal patients will be the worst hit," Ms Kumara said.

"In the past, they have sometimes sent them out by helicopter. 

"I'm not sure what the clinic is going to do there with the renal patients."