The downpour that swept through Canberra on Thursday was enough to push the region’s rainfall levels above average for the second month in a row after a largely hot, dry summer.
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Canberrans have a small window of opportunity to put their umbrellas down after the city copped a drenching overnight on Thursday morning.
The skies are expected to clear across the capital for a few hours before showers and thunderstorms roll in again on Thursday afternoon.
Weatherzone.com.au meteorologist Rob Sharpe said about 23 millimetres of rain had fallen in Canberra in the 24 hours to Thursday morning.
‘‘Falls across the ACT range from 20 to 40 millimetres effectively and were a bit higher in the Brindabellas,’’ Mr Sharpe said.
Bendora Dam copped 45 millimetres of rain, while 41 millimetres fell at Mount Ginini.
The heavy rains slowed traffic during morning peak hour, with police called to seven separate collisions.
The ACT State Emergency Service responded to 10 calls for help, mostly for roof leaks and fallen trees.
There had only been minor flooding on roads, which had cleared quickly, a spokeswoman for the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate said.
Wet weather also put a dampener on two hazard-reduction burns planned for Gossan Hill in Bruce, and Mount Painter in Cook, which have been delayed for a couple of weeks.
Canberra has already received 72 millimetres of rain this month, well above the long-term March average of 52 millimetres.
The widespread deluge has been attributed to a deep low pressure trough moving through NSW and Queensland.
‘‘We’ve got a surface low pressure trough but we’ve also got a strong upper level disturbance as well as a deep onshore flow, which has created a lot of moisture coming in.’’
While today’s top of 19 degrees makes it the coolest day this week, the mercury is tipped to rise to the mid-20s in coming days.
Mr Sharpe said Friday should be fairly dry with a chance of scattered light rains and storms in the afternoon.
He expected the skies would clear slightly on the weekend, before temperatures heated up next week.
The mercury is set to hit 24 degrees on Saturday, with a top of 25 degrees predicted for Sunday.
‘‘The weekend looks a fair bit drier than this week, which wouldn’t be hard,’’ Mr Sharpe said.
‘‘Saturday will be a nice morning with a chance of isolated storms but there’s less of a chance of seeing that in Canberra city."
He said Sunday will be a "pretty nice day" with the chance of a shower or two.
‘‘There’s heat that’s lingering over Western Australia and South Australia and that’s going to gradually push over early next week,’’ Mr Sharpe said.
‘‘One day next week should hit 28 degrees.’’
