Five-thousand kilometre long cloud-band across Australia

3 June 2024

The Daily Aus (TDA), Friday, 31 May 2024:

Rain is forecast across 90% of the country over the coming days as a 5,000km ‘cloudband’ makes its way from WA‘s north to south-east Australia.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), a ‘northwest cloudband’ is an extensive layer of air and moisture from over the Indian Ocean that can bring widespread rain to much of the country.

The cloud-band was not only extremely long, and also full to brimming with moisture. While rainfall remained constant throughout Saturday, there were some decidedly heavy downpours at times. These invariably came along just as we’d parked the car, and needed to cross a street to shelter, or while outside at some exposed mid-point between buildings.

We stopped at a cafe, a nice place, located in what was once a small warehouse, with an open ceiling with a corrugated iron roof. But we could barely hear ourselves speak at times, though during some of the showers, so heavy were they.