Western Queensland Plains Smothered By 8" - 20" Of Rain; Small Towns Like Winton Cut Off For A Week And Counting

Over the weekend, Narelle Hetherington got a call from a couple planning a more than 1,000km trip across Queensland. The drive would see them pass through Winton, where Hetherington runs a motel – the couple wanted a room. “I’m like, ‘mate, the roads are all cut off out here’,” Hetherington says. With the Western River breaking its banks as a deluge of water ran through Channel Country, the normally dry and dusty Winton became a kind of island emerging from the state’s inundated western plains. As of Monday, the town has been isolated for about a week.

“He said: ‘Well, what will we do?’” Hetherington says. “I said: ‘Dude, you’re ringing an old lady in outback Queensland asking for life advice.’” Despite the sardonic reply, the “dude” in Hetherington’s anecdote was acting in accordance to what many who live at the whims of monsoonal rain advise. In an age of artificial intelligence and instantly updating digital maps, he was planning ahead – and spoke to a human being with direct experience of the conditions.

After between 200mm and 500mm of rain fell across vast swathes of the state’s north and west in the week to Sunday – blocking major roads and cutting off towns at a time of year when so many are seeking to return home from holidays, or are embarking upon fresh odysseys – not everyone was as circumspect as that man.

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More rain is forecast for the state’s north later this week, and several flood warnings remained current as of Monday afternoon in the north and west, but (Ed.- Winton Shire mayor Cathy) White hopes it won’t be long before waters recede and towns such as Winton will roll out the welcome mat again. “Within a couple of weeks we’ll be back to normal,” she says. “And that’s the time to see it – the birdlife and wildlife will be spectacular out here over coming months.”

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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jan/06/floods-queensland-outback-holiday-travel-roads