In case you couldn’t tell from looking desolately out of your window at the pouring rain like Bella Swan in New Moon, Sydney has officially recorded its wettest year on record. I wish that was euphemism but in fact, it is just really, terribly, rainy.
Sydney has now recorded 2,199.8 millimetres of rain so far this year, beating the former record of 2,194.0 millimetres set in 1950.
This may be the one record no one wants to win — particularly given the devastating floods and seriously soggy summer earlier this year.
Unfortunately, there’s currently a tonne of Bureau of Meteorology flood warnings for river catchments across NSW, thanks to Ms La Niña’s return.
Already, some folks in western NSW have found themselves increasingly isolated as the flooding worsens. It’s concerning AF.
Farmers in the area have resorted to moving animals on boats because their properties are totally flooded or underwater, the ABC reported.
Roads have become flooded, leaving people cut off and trapped. More rain forecast for today and later this weekend could push catchments in the Central West to major flood levels. In short: big fkn yikes.
9News reported on one farm in the outback NSW town of Nangyan, which was cut off for five days ‘cos it was surrounded by flood water. The owners currently have to leave and enter their property via boat.
As if floods weren’t enough, there’s also the chance of thunderstorm super cells in far west NSW. Super cells, as I’ve just learned, are not the same thing as the band Soft Cell, who sings “Tainted Love”.
They are in fact rare but very damaging thunderstorms.
“These thunderstorms are quite severe in nature and they can bring the risk of heavy rain, flash flooding, damaging winds and hail,” BoM meteorologist Gabrielle Woodhouse told the ABC.
It’s not looking great for the rest of NSW either. SES assistant commissioner Sean Kearns said we could see certain areas copping the monthly rainfall “in just a couple of days”. He particularly warned people camping near rivers for the school holidays.
“What we’re going to see is significant amounts of rain,” he said, per The Sydney Morning Herald.
Fuck. Time to make besties with the local laundromat.
