Down it came. Down it will keep coming.
The storm was spectacular over Canberra around midnight as bolts of lightning hit the Telstra Tower.
Canberra airport had recorded almost 47mm of rain on Thursday, as of 3.30pm.
However, rainfall is set to ease on Thursday night into Friday.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Gabrielle Woodhouse said the ACT would see a light shower or two on Friday as the chance of rainfall decreased further over the weekend.
"Once we get to the weekend, the risk of those showers starts to decrease and winds also lighten. By Monday we're looking at partly cloudy skies, the possibility of seeing some morning fog around and minimum temperatures bent back towards zero and maximum temperatures around 13 degrees," she said.
The ACT SES has received more than 120 requests for assistance from the Canberra community since storms hit the region on Wednesday night.
As of 3pm on Thursday, emergency services had attended to 56 calls for help with 67 remaining outstanding.
Incidents are being attended to in order of priority and crews will work into the evening.
Many incidents relate to leaking roofs and water inundation, with crews also attending to a small number of trees down in Canberra's suburbs. Saturated soil can mean an increase in falling trees and branches.
Rain is expected to continue for the remainder of Thursday with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting winds could increase into the evening. A Severe Weather Warning remains in place for the ACT.
There were fears of flooding of the Queanbeyan river, and forecasters warned of "ponding" on roads as heavy, sudden downpours failed to clear quickly from tarmac.
The Oaks Estate crossing of the Molonglo River was closed just before noon on Thursday.
Other closures include: Coppins crossing, Uriarra crossing and Point Hut crossing.
Sports grounds were closed apart from synthetic surfaces and the Woden athletics track to, as the ACT government put it, "minimise damage to turf surfaces and in the interests of public safety after heavy rainfall overnight and expected during the course of the day". They will be assessed again on Friday to see if they can be used on the weekend.
Due to heavy rainfall, all ACT Government turf sportsgrounds are closed for training and match play today and tomorrow, Thursday 4 and Friday 5 August 2022. Grounds will be assessed again tomorrow Friday 5 August 2022, regarding training and match play for the weekend. pic.twitter.com/dEqTan1Fwh
— Transport Canberra and City Services (@TCCS_ACT) August 4, 2022
And the Mitchell drive-through COVID testing centre was closed because of the terrible weather and then reopened just before noon.
Emergency services were attending a multitude of incidents across Canberra, from power disruption in Bonner in the north to storm damage in Isabella Plains in the south to flood damage in the west.
Northbound traffic was backing up on Gungahlin Drive after an accident where cars merge on to it from the Barton Highway. Emergency services were at the scene as of 3pm, and the three lanes had been reduced to one.
The ACT ESA advised: "Take it easy on the roads and drive to the conditions. Keep away from storm water drains and catchments. Never drive, walk or ride through floodwater."
Thunder, wind of 30 to 45km/h and heavy rain was forecast for the ACT for the remainder of Thursday.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, by just before dawn on Thursday, Canberra had received 13.8 millimetres of rain since 9am on Wednesday.
But the heaviest downpours were on the higher ground.
At Thredbo and Perisher, around 50 millimetres fell. Temperatures stayed well above freezing in both. In Canberra, it sank to 9.8 degrees just after midnight.
Adjustments for wet weather have started to be made around the capital.
The Mitchell drive through testing centre is temporarily closed today (Thu 4 Aug) due to poor weather conditions ⚡️⛈If you need a PCR test, head to another testing centre, including those located at
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) August 3, 2022
🏥 Garran (open until 9pm)
🚗 Kambah (open until 4pm)
🏥 Holt (open until 4pm). pic.twitter.com/grPnmcCbrA
The emergency services advised Canberrans to take caution ahead of forecast severe weather:
- Move vehicles under cover or away from trees.
- Secure or put away loose items around your house, yard and balcony.
- Keep at least eight metres away from fallen power lines or objects that may be energised, such as fences.
- Trees that have been damaged by fire are likely to be more unstable and more likely to fall.
- Don't drive, ride or walk through flood water.
- Keep clear of creeks and storm drains.
Send us your weather pics! We want to see how this rain is affecting Canberra. Email your storm, lightning, rain and flood photos to online@canberratimes.com.au and we'll add them to our photo gallery.
