Heavy rain and storms expected in Australia’s south-east as severe weather warning issued for Tasmania

Severe thunderstorms could bring heavy rainfall and flash flooding to eastern and south-eastern Australia in coming days, according to the weather bureau. On Tuesday afternoon, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said a low-pressure system over South Australia combined with moisture being pushed down the eastern seaboard from the tropics, would bring widespread rainfalls. The forecast coincides with a separate update from the bureau saying there were now “signs of El Niño development” in the tropical Pacific. The system can increase the chance of hotter and warmer conditions, particularly in the Australian spring. In the 24 hours to Tuesday afternoon, thunderstorms brought rainfalls of up to 60mm in New South Wales , 70mm in Tasmania, 20mm in Victoria and 40mm in south-east South Australia. Meteorologist Ilana Cherny said severe weather warnings were in place for parts of eastern Tasmania on Wednesday and Thursday, and severe thunderstorms were predicted to hit the central west of NSW before extending south towards to Victoria on Thursday evening. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email “In addition to heavy falls tomorrow, we could also see areas or storms with damaging winds and large hail through parts of southern Queensland,” Cherny said. …