MOUNT Isa has been blessed with its wettest December day on record as a monsoon trough delivered rain across parts of the north west.
The town itself received 115m in the 24 hours to 9am, while Mount Isa mine recorded 127mm in the same timeframe.
Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Rosa Hoff said both sites had received their highest December daily rainfall since records began over 50 years ago.
Ms Hoff said a trough lying over north west Queensland was extending through Longreach and the central highlands toward the Darling Downs, was delivering scattered showers and thunderstorms to parts of the state.
And while the Isa has most likely seen the heaviest falls from the system, isolated showers are expected in coming days.
Katrina Dare of May Downs Station, about 30km north west of Mount Isa, recorded 109mm to 9am - the best falls they had seen since February or March.
"We don't normally see any rain like this until the end of January or February, it is a lovely early Christmas present," Ms Dare said.
"It has definitely been building up, the afternoons have been really hot and humid and there's been a lot of storms circling the area, but this is just incredible, we're blown away."
Ms Dare said she was out doing bore runs yesterday and the creek that runs at the bottom ridge of the homestead was dry when she returned home about 5pm.
"We woke up this morning and she had well and truly burst the banks."
Elsewhere, Normanton got 32mm in the 24 hours to 9am, while the Landsborough Highway gauge south east of Cloncurry got 28mm.
Showers continued throughout today, with decent falls recorded in areas north of Hughenden, down to Winton and south of Prairie.
Ms Hoff said rain was expected to continue in the northern interior tomorrow, with totals up to 15mm expected across inland parts and up to 20mm higher up on the Peninsula.
Isolated totals of between 30mm-60mm area possible in some storms to the west, but showers are unlikely to reach Charters Towers or the coast.
Ms Hoff said rain would clear away from the Isa by Thursday, with shower and any storm activity more likely around the Hughenden and Richmond areas.
Coastal areas of North Queensland, including Townsville and Cairns, and the Atherton Tablelands can expect some light falls on Thursday and Friday.
Heavier showers may hit the Mackay area later in the week as the trough extends south to the coast.
Ms Hoff said the rain had decreased the daily temperatures in the north west.
Mount Isa is expected to be in the low to mid-30s, and Richmond and Hughenden will be between 32C-34C - about 4-5C below average for this time of year.
"The cooler air will get to Georgetown and Hughenden, but it won't make it to Charters Towers for Friday, though it might be a bit cooler on Saturday," Ms Hoff said.
Coastal towns will record average December temperatures on Christmas Day, with Townsville expecting 33C, Mackay 31C and Cairns in the low 30s.
