Flood Watch Issued for Central, Western, and Eastern Inland Areas of NT and WA
This alert is no longer in effect.
BOM issued it on April 6, 2026, 5 months ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).
Areazine synthesizes this BoM weather warning directly from BOM's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a flood watch for several catchments across the Northern Territory and Western Australia due to forecast heavy rainfall and existing wet conditions.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Flood Watch
- Affected area
- Central, Western and Eastern Inland Areas
- Issued
- April 6, 2026
- Issuing authority
- BOM
Flood notices turn on location and timing. Treat the named area as this record's scope; do not assume nearby counties, parishes, or waterways were included.
Record status: historical. It was issued 5 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Central, Western and Eastern Inland Areas.
Alert Details
This Flood Watch (IDD20595) has been issued by the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology. It provides early advice of possible flooding within specified catchments across the Central, Western, and Eastern Inland areas. This is the 20th flood watch issued for this event.
Affected Areas
Catchments likely to be affected include:
- Finke River and Stephenson Creek
- MacDonnell Ranges
- Simpson Desert
- Sturt Creek District
- Western Desert
- Central Desert
- Tanami Desert
Separate flood warnings remain current for the Daly River, Victoria River, and Katherine River. Flooding is no longer expected in the East Kimberley, Fitzmaurice, Moyle, and Roper catchments.
What You Should Do
Residents and travelers are advised to:
- Avoid driving, walking, swimming, or playing in floodwater as it is dangerous.
- Stay away from flooded drains, rivers, streams, and waterways.
- Obey all road closure signs and plan ahead to avoid flooded roads.
- Check road conditions before traveling, as roads may become impassable and communities or homesteads may become isolated.
- For emergency assistance, contact the SES at 132 500. In life-threatening emergencies, call 000 immediately.
- Monitor local media and the ABC for updates.
Expected Conditions
A trough of low pressure located over the southern Northern Territory, supported by an inflow of humid tropical air, is expected to generate widespread moderate to heavy rainfall over the next few days. Because catchments are already wet from recent rain, this forecast rainfall may cause significant water level rises in rivers and creeks, as well as prolonged overland flooding and ponding.
Timeline
The alert was issued at 12:07 pm ACST on Monday, 16 March 2026. The situation is changing quickly, and the next update is scheduled to be issued by 1:00 pm ACST on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.
Original source: BOM Official Notice ↗
Related Weather Warnings
All Weather Warnings →Nationwide notices with similar length or severity timing 8
Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this BoM weather warning: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.
Similar body length
Nearest notices by article body length (1,875 characters here).
Similar severity timing
Same severity (medium) notices issued closest in time to April 6, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this BoM weather warning.