Winter is coming: Bunbury belted with 56mm of rain in 24 hours

Just five days into the season and winter is well and truly upon Bunbury, the town clocking in 56mm of rain on Sunday night, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. The pouring rain has turned many local parks into swamp-like conditions including Maidens Reserve in Withers, which was reportedly up to people’s knees in muddy water on Sunday afternoon. Along with the flooded parkland, roads are also affected — Blair Street and Strickland Street both flooded over, despite many cars continuing to brave the trying conditions. Main Roads WA has reported South Western Highway and Coalfields Road to be “open with caution”, as well as Albany Highway between Arthur River and Kendenup. South West Superintendent Geoff Stewart warned the community to slow and “drive to the conditions”. “Wet weather is here and it will be for a while,” he said. “Let’s all slow down and look after one another. . . we’ve already had one fatal crash on the roads last week so let’s not add to that.” Emergency WA has warned road users to take caution if getting behind the wheel, advising drivers not to drive into waters of unknown depth, slow down and keep a safe distance from other drivers. Despite the sudden onset weather, they said a winter front of this nature was “typical” for this time of year. Looking ahead, the rain and storms are set to continue until at least Sunday, with winds expected to get up to 56km/h.