Ex-tropical cyclone Owen continues to pour down rain but North West Queensland has missed out after it made landfall near Kowanyama early on Saturday morning.
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There are flood warnings in place for the lower Diamantina, Bohle and Herbert Rivers and a flood watch from Ayr to St Lawrence as areas on the coast getting their monthly rainfall in 24 hours, but it has stayed mostly dry in the North West with no rain in Mount Isa and at best a 30% chance in the coming days.
The cyclone crossed the coast near the Gilbert River Mouth as a low end Category 3, having at one stage seemed it could even rise to become a Category 4.
The cyclone had earlier hovered off the east coast of the Northern Territory near Port Roper before turning back east to Queensland.
A last minute turn took it away from the more populated areas of Pormpuraaw and Kowanyama as the North West mostly missed out.
Kowanyama got 39mm out of the system and Burketown got 14mm on Saturday but Normanton only got 5mm and Mornington Island got 3mm.
After making landfall the system was downgraded but it still dumped heavy rain as it headed south.
The heaviest totals overnight Saturday were at Halifax east of Ingham, which recorded 681 millimetres in 24 hours.
There were also road closures on the Bruce Hwy between Townsville and Cairns with reports of crocodiles on the roadway.
The BoM said the system would move further south-eastward, mainly parallel to the coast over the next 24 hours with some uncertainty as to how far south it will move.
There remains a small possibility that Owen could redevelop into a cyclone for the third time if it drifts off the coast.
As it moves further southwards it will combine with an upper level trough, moving over Queensland with the possibility of heavy rain through Central Queensland.
Meanwhile the forecast for Mount Isa is for hot and sunny conditions to continue to Christmas with temperatures rising to a maximum of 44 degrees on Wednesday.
The best chance of rain is Friday when it will be partly cloudy with a “slight” (30%) chance of a shower.
There will be slightly better chance of rain in the Gulf Country with a 50% chance of rain in Normanton on Sunday.
READ ALSO: Rain misses drought-declared west
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
