Outback Rain: Stormy Skies and Rising Rivers

The lull before the storm took place over the first few days of this past week. Humidity, heat, stickiness, and sweat. Tales of wild weather in other parts of the country buzzed through the airways and media outlets. We lived life with one eye on what was being predicted by forecasters. Of course, they were right. The rain came. It ripped the sky in two.

The Todd River rose and for the second time in three months, every causeway in Alice Springs closed. One half of town was cut off, traffic funneled onto a single road to get out of those suburbs. Schools closed as smaller rivers flowed and cut off access to their grounds and facilities. 

The usually clear blue sky was pasted over with grey clouds, and the night sky was sliced by lightning. Lying awake in bed at night, you could hear the rain on the roof, thick and heavy, making you wonder how many drops would fall, and whether you would wake up in the morning to a town underwater, for which there has been precedent.

The Todd River, Alice Springs, after significant rain

Fortunately, this time, the waters didn’t overcome the whole town. However, many people had their houses flood, and several roads were closed. Driving around Alice Springs revealed fallen tree branches and random rivulets of water running alongside footpaths, in backyards, and even in built-up areas over pavers and concrete.

The rain continued until Wednesday. And then it ceased. The temperature, which had blessedly come right down at the onset of the storms, remained mild, and the water began to recede. One by one, the causeways opened. The logs and soil that had lurked beneath the surging water of the Todd River were revealed as the water levels dropped. Not all the water has gone completely. Even now, people are still swimming in the last remaining pools in the riverbed, breathing in the fresh air.

The mild temperature will not last for long. It is only just February; hot days and hotter nights lie before us as time sends us closer to winter. The past summer has been an uncharacteristically wet one. Alice Springs has been cut off by flooding in South Australia and had its own drenching. It remains to be seen what the rest of the season will throw at us. It’ll make for a good story sometime. In the meantime, life goes on - until next time.