Over 100 millilitres of rain fell throughout the Macintyre River catchment area in only a few hours yesterday, sparking flood warnings for the Macintyre River and surrounding areas.

Goonoowiggal wilderness, five kilometres south of Inverell recorded 100 millilitres in only four hours, and falls of between 50 and 80 millilitres were recorded upstream of Inverell.

Inverell had not experienced as much rain with only 14 to 15 millilitres falling within the town limits, but runoff and water from upstream was enough to close the O’Connor St Bridge at 4.30pm, with warnings for the closure of the Ring St bridge handed down at 5pm.

At the time of press yesterday, the Macintyre River was expected to peak at 4.1 metres at 6.30pm, after a very wet day around the catchment area.

Flood Intelligence Officer for the Inverell SES, David Jones, said the river was not expected to go any higher after latest forecasts and is looked like flow from Middle Creek would get to the Macintyre before water from upstream, avoiding a larger flood and the possibility of more damage.

Mr Jones said the flooding was a testament to how quickly weather conditions could change in the catchment area.

“I think today’s events are a gentle reminder to us all that we have a very wet catchment, which can be seen by how little rain was needed to make the river flood, we at the SES are urging people to take caution around the rivers with more storms forecast over summer.”