It's arrived

For most of the past week, the central coast of eastern Australia, IE southeast Queensland and northern NSW, have been experiencing a massive and very unusual rainfall event. An upper low pressure system over the area has been fed with a stream of very moist tropical maritime air by a high pressure system near New Zealand. Although this sub-tropical area normally has a summer rainfall peak, the amounts from this system are far outside the usual bounds. Falls of 200mm daily with over a metre in the week have been common, with even over 700mm in 24 hours in some spots. ( ADDITION: I've just read that the top 1 week rainfall was about 1.8 M.) Needless to say, this has caused massive flooding and disruption in many areas.

The weather system is now moving southwards, bringing the high rainfalls to Sydney and to my location further south. It should dissipate in the next few days, but not before causing further problems.

This event is well outside what would be considered "normal", but it's entirely in keeping with the latest IPCC report issued on 28 February 2022. The media release with it warns “This report recognizes the interdependence of climate, biodiversity and people and integrates natural, social and economic sciences more strongly than earlier IPCC assessments, ....It emphasizes the urgency of immediate and more ambitious action to address climate risks. Half measures are no longer an option.”