Nearby Preston also recorded 258mm of rain in the 24 hours leading up to 9am Saturday, while Jubilee Pocket recorded 230mm. Further north at Bowen, 11mm was recorded at Bowen Airport. High totals were also recorded around Mackay, with 113mm recorded at Paget and 122mm at Mt Jukes. Mr Marshall said rain was still hanging around the Whitsunday and Mackay region today and there was still a potential for further heavy falls. Proserpine, Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island were expected to be the locations most likely to see heavy rainfall, however Mr Marshall said it was difficult to pinpoint the exact areas in the firing line.
Widespread, heavy rainfall will drench the Mackay and Central Queensland regions over the next 24 hours.
Mackay residents woke Christmas morning to wet and wild weather, with places like Upper Finch Hatton having received 66mm of rainfall since 9am Thursday.
The highest rainfall total recorded in the region was 105mm west of Moranbah, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
BOM meteorologist Livio Regano said the Central Highlands region copped the biggest drenching in the past 24 hours – and more is on the way.
“A large area from Mackay going west through the Coalfields, northwest to Gulf Country and south to Rockhampton is where the falls are going to be heavy in the next 24 hours,” Mr Regano said.