"Landphoon" delivers a deluge across Queensland and Red Centre (more relief for the Murray Darling)

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Heavy rain is predicted across the Channel Country and into Qld's southern and central interior.
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A monsoon trough is causing rain across large parts of the state, which includes a monsoon low that is moving into the Channel Country. Weather bureau senior forecaster Geoff Doueal says the system is intense. "It's almost like a tropical cyclone over land this thing - it's kind of like a landphoon ," he said.

Mr Doueal says already saturated rivers and creeks in central and southern Queensland are likely to flood quickly over the next two days. He says the low moving into Queensland's Channel Country may reach Lake Eyre. "It is already saturated in the ground out there because it is already flooding, but ... could even be a lot of flash flooding as this particular system goes through," he said.

"We are going to see a lot of heavy rain in through the Channel Country down through the area towards the Maranoa and Warrego area, around Charleville, getting into Roma, through the Darling Downs area, late Monday and into Tuesday - quite a lot of heavy rain. "There'll be a lot of strong winds in southern Queensland, a lot of flooding still out there in the south-west. "There are already flood warnings there, so likely to see further flooding and heavy rain through the Charleville area."

He says the depleted Murray-Darling river system could get a big boost from the monsoon low. "The first rains will be into the river that actually runs more toward Lake Eyre, but as it passes over more towards the east, the river systems will link up to the Darling and that will get a good soaking as well," he said. Mr Doueal says the system will also make its way into the south-east. "We could see falls easily in 100 to 200 millimetre mark from this system," he said.

Grazier John Barnett lives 130 kilometres north-west of Charleville and says the ground is so saturated from recent rain he has started moving equipment to higher ground. "It just absolutely poured - there was water laying everywhere," he said. "I got up and started lifting stuff up. "We have a big levee bank around the house but back in 2008, I woke up at five o'clock in the morning to be up to my knees in water. "Last night I went out into the shed and shifted welders and that sort of stuff that I could lift."

Birdsville 'awash'

In Queensland's far south-west, Birdsville is awash with water this morning as it records more than 105 millimetres of rain in the last 24 hours. Resident Nell Brook says she has lived in the town for more than 30 years and has never seen such an intense downpour. "This morning I'm waking up to wet windows on the south-eastern side - it's just pouring down, absolutely amazing - I am just in awe," she said.

"We were out yesterday evening just digging little drains off our lawn - we've just been trying to keep the water away from the house. "I think if we all had some of those little skis here the kids would be out there this morning." Ms Brook says the downpour will help graziers in the region. "Rain is always welcome in the west - I don't think anybody would knock any sort of rain back," she said. "Because it's been constant - admittedly the rain has been intense - but it is going to make a big difference.

"The fact that is has come at the end of February, it's a little bit cooler, which should mean the grasses will get a little bit of a kick-on this year."

More: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/01/2832617.htm