Rain swamps Sydney's water catchments
Sydney’s catchments have been swamped in rain, bringing some of the best falls in up to four years. The rain-starved Warragamba only this week posted yet another drop in capacity and is now about 50.9 per cent, Martin Palmer, meteorologist with The Weather Company, says. Huge falls around the Central Tablelands on Friday, as bands of storms ripped through, look set to lift weekly levels for the first time since Christmas. The biggest 24-hour totals were:
- Taralga 73mm – the highest since January 2006.
- Katoomba – 112mm – the highest since June 2007.
- Springwood – 138mm – the highest since January 2006.
The rain was brought by a massive amount of moisture blowing in on north-east winds and slamming into a trough. Although the lines of storms brought a few problems with flooding, in the long term, it will be much needed. Levels have steadily fallen since last summer and now are at the lowest since June 2007. Further heavy falls are expected and Warragamba in particular could see at least an extra 70mm before Monday. Much of the rain will be coming from storm activity and will again bring the risk of flash flooding. …
