Rockhampton sits in tropical northern Australia, where a monsoonal climate produces a hot, wet season from roughly November through April and a dry season for the rest of the year, with cyclones posing the region’s biggest flood risk.
On the Fitzroy River in central Queensland, the city sits on one of Australia’s most flood-prone river systems, with major floods recurring roughly once a decade. Cyclones crossing this coast can dump extraordinary rainfall totals in a short time, and because they can intensify rapidly right up until landfall, the Bureau of Meteorology’s radar network is essential for tracking a storm’s exact position and rain bands in real time. Learn more: Hurricane Season Radar Guide · Open the full Rain Map