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Ex-Tropical Cyclone Tiffany rings in East Kimberley waterfall season

Stephanie SinclairThe Kimberley Echo
Middle Springs flowing steadily on Friday afternoon after Kununurra received 80mm of rain.
Camera IconMiddle Springs flowing steadily on Friday afternoon after Kununurra received 80mm of rain. Credit: Stephanie Sinclair/The Kimberley Echo

After three months of gruelling heat and stifling humidity, residents in parts of the East Kimberley have welcomed 150mm of rainfall within four days to ring in the waterfall season.

The deluge was brought into the region by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Tiffany, which crossed into WA from the Northern Territory as a deep tropical low and slowly made its way west from Thursday to Sunday.

Topping the rainfall charts was Ellenbrae Station which recorded 155mm of rainfall in the 24 hours to Friday morning, while Kununurra received 80.6mm in the same period.

A further 70mm fell in Kununurra from Friday to Sunday, prompting the much-anticipated return of several waterfalls across the region including Black Rock, Middle Springs, The Grotto, and Homestead Falls at Lake Argyle.

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The Shire of Wyndham East Kimberley responded to the downpour with several road closures, including Ivanhoe Crossing and roads surrounding Parry Creek and Valentine Spring, while Main Roads shut-off access to the Gibb River Road and issued a warning for those travelling the Great Northern Highway between Derby and Wyndham due to rising floodways.

Lightning over Broome.
Camera IconLightning over Broome. Credit: Tom Zaunmayr/Broome Advertiser

The West Kimberley wasn’t so lucky, with Ex-Tropical Cyclone Tiffany dropping just 10mm and an impressive light show over Broome overnight on Thursday.

The system took Kununurra’s January rainfall total to 225mm, about 15mm over the monthly median.

Conversely, Broome’s January total sits at 10.6mm, about 200mm behind its mean January rainfall figures of 209mm.

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Tiffany moved southeast on Monday before weakening over the southwest of the Northern Territory.

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