Heavy rain to drench central-west and northwest WA

Heavy rain is about to soak parts of Western Australia's Central-west, Gascoyne and Pilbara districts over the next few days, snapping the prolonged dry period and bringing the heaviest rain in years to some areas.

A low pressure trough (ahead of a cold front) that has been fed by moisture over the Indian Ocean will begin to move over the Central-West and Gascoyne from later tonight, before moving over the state's northwest over the next few days.

Widespread totals of 30-to-60mm are likely over these regions, however some places are likely to see totals of 100-to-150mm, making it the best rain in years for some areas.

Whilst the ground is very dry, the hardened nature of the ground will make flash flooding more likely than usual, and despite the dry ground the rain is expected to cause riverine flooding in some catchments.

The rain will be very welcome, with many areas only seeing 25-50% of their average rainfall so far this year. Carnarvon had only collected a meagre 21mm to the end of May, well short of its average of 97mm. However, with 50-to-60mm expected over the next few days, the town can look forward to its best rain since March 2015.

The front behind this trough will also bring handy falls to southwest WA, with widespread totals of 20-to-50mm and the risk of damaging wind gusts tonight and on Tuesday.

Image: Accumulated rainfall totals until 00z 8 June, 2018