Monday 9 May 2022 11:44 PM Brisbane, Sydney weather: Deadly rain bomb to explode over east coast trends now
Queensland is bracing for 'significant' life-threatening flooding across several regions as record-breaking rain, wind and wild surf lashes Australia's east coast.
A flood watch has been issued for the majority of the Sunshine State amid warnings of heavy downpours of up to 500mm across central areas.
Forecasters warn the wet weather conditions will only intensify during the week with towering waves up to three metres tall set to smash Queensland's coast.
It comes as a man in his 20s was pulled from rising floodwaters late on Monday night after a passer-by reported seeing a man in the Mount Isa River.
Queensland is bracing for widespread flooding across several regions, which are forecast to be pounded with a 500mm deluge (pictured, a jogger at the Brisbane River in March)
'The heavy rainfall threat will contract from the west today. Significant flooding is likely,' the Bureau of Meteorology warned early on Tuesday morning
Emergency services arrived at the Mount Isa Rugby Union Club, near the Leichhardt River in the state's northwest, just before 11pm on Monday.
Two police officers jumped into the swollen river to help the man, with one able to pull him to safety while the other got stranded himself.
A rescue team was able to bring the second officer to dry land, with neither injured, while the man was taken to Mount Isa Hospital to be treated for hypothermia.
The Bureau of Meteorology early on Tuesday morning issued a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall in the Central and Northern Interior with the weather event to spread to the northeast on Wednesday.
'The heavy rainfall threat will contract from the west today. Significant flooding is likely,' the weather warning said.
Parts of southeast Queensland have already been hit with up to 130mm of rainfall since Monday, with more intense showers forecast throughout the week.
The widespread rainfall will bring a prolonged risk of floods to areas of the state already on flood watch, especially in the south and southeast.
Queensland and NSW are still reeling from devastating floods earlier this year which triggered a massive - but criticised - response from state and federal governments.
Queensland and NSW are still reeling from devastating floods earlier this year (pictured, residents use boats to travel through floodwaters in Lismore in February)
More than 130mm fell on the Sunshine Coast Airport from midnight to noon with Mount Isa residents bearing the brunt of the wild weather (pictured, rain in Sydney in April)
The brunt of the rain is set to be dumped along a 700km stretch of coastline from Townsville to Rockhampton and inland to Longreach and Winton.
More than 130mm fell on the Sunshine Coast Airport from midnight to noon with Mount Isa residents bearing the brunt of the wild weather.
Longreach, in the state's outback, normally receives up to 23mm of rain a month, but on Tuesday alone is forecast to be hit with 100mm.
BoM late on Monday night issued a warning for heavy rainfall, damaging wind gusts and possible thunderstorms for the Gulf Region city.
Sky News Weather chief meteorologist Tom Saunders said the big wet was sparked by cold air from the west pushing into warm air from the Coral Sea to the North.
'The warm air gets lifted above the cold air because it's not as dense and it's that uplift that leads to clouds, which in this case will be