Adelaide Weather: Thunderstorm warning cancelled, heavy rains and strong winds possible

A thunderstorm warning that was issued for parts of South Australia has now been cancelled. However, the state is still expected to receive heavy rainfall.

The warning – issued ahead of possible heavy rain, storms and winds – has been repealed by the Bureau of Meteorology. The weather system developed further south than what was initially forecast.

While the Adelaide Hills were initially expected to receive 80 millimetres of rainfall, it will now likely experience half of that, as reported by the AAP (via Advertiser). There are also concerns of a possible flash flood in the region.

Meanwhile, parts of the country are under the effect of a severe heatwave. Mercury levels reached more than 40 degrees in the state’s north. Moomba and Oodnadatta witnessed temperatures soaring to 43 degrees and 45 degrees respectively. Another heatwave is forecast to strike New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Northern Territory. A three-day heatwave alert has been issued for parts of Tasmania, Victoria, SA, NSW and QLD, beginning Jan. 16, according to AAP (via News Corp Australia).

According to Andrew Butalino, a forecaster with the Bureau of Meteorology, “We are experiencing a pretty static weather pattern at the moment.” Speaking with News Corp Australia, he said conditions will likely remain similar next week. “There is a lot of hot air moving across the eastern states from the central parts of the country,” he said. “There will be something of a cool change on the weekend, before it starts to heat up again.”

The Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Paul Laini said the amount of rainfall for this time of year is unusual for SA. “I guess every 10 years or so we get events during January where we see around 25mm of rain,” he said. “So it is unusual but it’s not expected to be unprecedented.”

The bureau has also expressed the possibility of heavy rainfall in the Mount Lofty Ranges on Friday morning. “We're also concerned that we may see some minor flooding in the Upper Onkaparinga and the Upper Torrens catchments,” Lainio said.