Australia Weather News

Flood warnings remain in place for large parts of Queensland after widespread rain over the weekend with the weather bureau forecasting more falls to come.

A severe thunderstorm warning is expected to be issued Monday for coastal and inland communities from Rockhampton north to Cairns. 

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jonathan How said the area saw scattered falls between 50 to 100 millimetres on Sunday, which may continue throughout Monday.

"Depending where we see those heavier thunderstorms redeveloping we could see falls up to 50mm," he said. 

Well-saturated catchments around Townsville and Cairns are a focus, with minor flood warnings in place for the Ross, Bohle and Herbert rivers. 

"Any additional rainfall will flow into these rivers, so we're keeping a very close eye on what will eventuate," Mr How said.

More rain on the way

In the state's west, remnants of ex-Tropical Cyclone Dianne will see rain redevelop on Tuesday before moving off towards the coast later this week. 

"We'll start to see that rainfall build in the Channel Country and push into the south-east by Wednesday," Mr How said.

"We could see moderately heavy falls about the Darling Downs, Brisbane and the Gold Coast ... that will dry off by Thursday."

Major flood warnings continue for the Thomson and Barcoo rivers and Cooper Creek; the Bulloo and Paroo and Lower Warrego rivers; the Georgina River and Eyre Creek. 

Flooding in the central west has already seen helicopters ferry residents to safety as water inundated the town. 

Maryborough breathes sigh of relief 

South-east Queensland enjoyed a sunny and warm Sunday after heavy rain on Saturday. 

Maryborough pensioner Heather Copley spent Sunday walking her dog and inspecting the Mary River. 

"This is a little flood … I've seen it a lot higher," she said. 

"If we don't get any more rain, we might be lucky and it'll just go out to sea. 

"We do not need any more rain on top of this otherwise we will be in big trouble."

Ms Copley said while flooding in Maryborough was "a fact of life", it still set the pulse racing when the water threatened homes. 

"It's quite a scary thing, it makes your heart pound," she said. 

Adam Harris spent the morning "having a look around town" with his son Manning.

Mr Harris said he had some concerns over the weekend when the major flood warning was issued.

"You just do what you need to do when the time comes," he said.

Pub worker Jack Sheppard said everyone had been talking about the weather.

"A lot of the people I spoke to have been farming type of people and they're happy for the rain, but they're kind of over it at this point — it's more than enough."

Showers forecast 

Townsville and Mackay face a possible thunderstorm and up to 20mm of rain on Monday, while Cairns can expect up to 8mm. 

In the south-east, there's a chance of showers for Brisbane and the Gold and Sunshine coasts on Monday ahead of up to 15 to 20mm of rain on Wednesday. 

In the state's west, Mount Isa and Longreach will be partly cloudy with a medium chance of showers. 

A low-pressure system in the Tasman Sea is likely to cause larger-than-usual waves later in the week.

"It might whip up some pretty big southerly swell so that may have an impact on some of the bay islands with southern-facing beaches on Tuesday and Wednesday," senior forecaster Shane Kennedy said.