Flood Watch Issued for North and North-West South Australia Catchments
This alert is no longer in effect.
BOM issued it on April 6, 2026, 4 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 in North and North-West South Australia as heavy rainfall is expected to move through the region starting Monday.
Read this weather record in 30 seconds
- Record type
- Flood Watch
- Affected area
- North and North-West South Australia
- 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 4 months ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in North and North-West South Australia.
Alert Details
The Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has issued Flood Watch Number 3 for parts of North and North-West South Australia. This alert provides early advice of possible flooding within specified catchments due to an approaching weather system.
Affected Areas
The following catchments are likely to be affected:
- Warburton River
- Cooper Creek
- Lake Eyre
- Finke River and Stephenson Creek
- Simpson Desert
- Eastern Great Victoria Desert
- Warburton District Rivers
Flood warnings are currently in effect for the Warburton and Cooper catchments due to floodwaters arriving from Queensland.
What You Should Do
Residents and travelers in the affected areas should take the following precautions:
- Do not drive, walk, swim, or play in floodwater as it is dangerous.
- Stay away from flooded drains, rivers, streams, and other waterways.
- Obey all road closure signs and check road conditions before traveling, as some communities and homesteads may become isolated.
- Monitor the ABC and local media for updates.
- For emergency assistance, call the SES at 132 500. In life-threatening emergencies, call 000 immediately.
Expected Conditions
A tropical low situated in northern Western Australia is feeding rich tropical moisture along a surface trough, combined with an upper trough moving through southern Western Australia. This system brings a risk of heavy rainfall to northwestern parts of South Australia. Because catchments in the area are already moderately wet, they are expected to respond quickly to the new rainfall. Expected impacts include river and creek level rises, prolonged overland flooding, and ponding.
Timeline
The risk of heavy rainfall begins in northwestern parts of the state late Sunday evening, March 15, 2026. The heavy rain is expected to move slowly eastwards on Monday, March 16. The next flood watch update is scheduled to be issued by 12:00 PM ACDT on Monday.
Original source: BOM Official Notice ↗
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