As the Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for an already saturated and battered north coast and Tablelands, weather experts said the intense flooding was the love-child between Cyclone Jasper and a coastal low.
These comments came as the BOM issued a severe weather warning at 10:40 am Monday which said the region could expect "heavy, locally intense rainfall .contracting to areas between the Daintree and Cape Flattery."
The devastating rains and subsequent flooding came as no surprise to Higgins Storm Chasing's extreme weather chaser, Thomas Hinterdorfer.
Mr Hinterdorfer said record breaking rainfall had been observed across the region in the 24 hours to 9am Monday.
He said record breaking December rainfall across the north tropical coast included several locations seeing over a metre of rainfall in the 48 hours to 9am Monday - which included areas north of Cairns and over the Daintree separately, with periods of 400mm plus in six hours or less, with event totals now exceeding two metres.
"We had a very intense weather pattern that developed with ex-Cyclone Jasper to the west and a coastal low which developed over FNQ and which enhanced all the rainfall even more," he said.
"They tended to move extremely slowly, so the same areas got hammered again and again."
Mr Hinterdorfer said flooding was made worse by the two systems impacting on each other and staying over the same areas.
"The Cairns northern beaches were hammered Sunday then overnight the Daintree was hammered again for the fourth time which led to some ridiculous rainfall totals," he said.
"While the Atherton Tablelands were hit it was not as crazy as downhill but still you are getting widespread falls over 500 mm and all the cloud and rain meant temperatures were down.
"Daytime temperatures for Cairns was 24 degrees celsius to 25 degrees celsius, which is quite cold for the tropics and it was colder on the Tablelands.
Now the two systems appear to be finally going their own ways, he said.
"The systems are finally letting go," he said.
"All the different components of the ex-tropical cyclone and the coastal trough and any upper level support which had created the perfect storm, now it's all moving off in different ways.
"We expect it to continue to weaken out today then it will look much calmer.
"There will still be some showers but delivering 10 to 20 mm not 400 to 100 mm."
On Monday retired CSIRO meteorologist Peter Nelson agreed record rains were still falling across the far north and said it was unusual to have such high levels so far ahead of the usual wet season.
"Cairns has had another 278 mms to this morning making 546 mms in two days which is easily a record two day rainfall for December ," he said.
"The small town of Bairds recorded 870 mms in the 24 hours to 9 am and Diwan recorded 829 mm to 9 am; these two places have recorded their wettest December day easily and overall.
"The third highest daily rainfalls since 878 mms (was) at Finch Hatton on February 18, 1958 and 907 mms at Crohamhurst on February 3, 1893.
"It was most unusual to receive the 546 mms in two days at Cairns and the 870 mms at Bairds and 829 mms at Diwan in a single day during the month of December.
"Rainfalls of this magnitude have always occurred in Northern Queensland from February to early April when sea surface temperatures are normally at the highest for the year ."
Higgins Storm Chasing top 24 hour totals:
* Bairds 870mm - *New* December Australia record. 3rd wettest day in recorded Australian history.
* Diwan 829mm
* Mossman South 714mm
* Yandill 701mm
* Whyanbeel Valley 700mm
* Beesbike 656mm
* Stewart Creek Valley 652mm
* Whyanbeel Creek 651mm
(All areas above topped previous December Australia rainfall record.)
* Black Mountain 640mm
* Myola 638mm
* Daintree Village 637mm
* Mossman 621mm
* Kuranda Railway Station 517mm
* Cairns Airport 307mm - this re-breaks the station December record set yesterday.
* Widespread falls of 150-300mm across the Cairns - Innisfail - Mareeba areas, with isolated falls to 450mm.
Top 48 hour totals (Saturday 9am to Monday 9am)
* Black Mountain 1292mm
* Bairds 1196mm
* Myola 1151mm
* Diwan 1064mm
* Whyanbeel Creek 1064mm
* Whyanbeel Valley 1061mm
* Stewart Creek Valley 1042mm
* Kuranda Railway Station 1027mm
* Mossman 1007mm
* Daintree Village 916mm
* Yandill 900mm
* Craiglie 820mm
* Mona Mona 799mm
* Port Douglas 746mm
Event Totals (Wednesday 9am to Monday 9am):
* Black Mountain 2166mm
* Bairds 2118mm
* Myola 2025mm
* Mossman South 1935mm (no data for day 4, likely over 400mm)
* Whyanbeel Valley 1934mm
* Yandill 1934mm
* Whyanbeel Creek 1927mm
* Kuranda Railway Station 1831mm
* Mossman 1745mm
* Mona Mona 1634mm
* Stewart Creek Valley 1482 (no data recorded on day one, with other areas seeing 500mm+ around the area).
*The previous December record in Australia for 24 hour rainfall was Halifax, Queensland on December 16, 2018 with 678mm.
