During the morning of 30 June 2005 (local time) the heaviest rainfall occurred in this event as a trough system had developed just inland from the coast in Northern New South Wales and extended up to a small low centre just to the north of Brisbane.

The flow onto the coast was warm and very moist with dewpoints reaching nineteen or twenty degrees Celsius. This was also the period of the strongest winds with gale force northeast winds indicated and this was consistent with the larges waves on the wave rider buoys (significant wave heights reaching 5 metres) around 2300UTC 29 June 2005.

There was widespread severe flooding along the whole Gold Coast strip with hourly rainfall totals up to 145mm and 12 hour rainfall totals to 503mm. There were three deaths with a young couple swept off a bridge in their vehicle and a man drowned at Byron Bay about 55km south of Tweed Heads.

Insured costs 78,900,000 (AUD 2005). 3000 people affected- 3142 people evacuated.

This event is classified as an East Coast Low.

More about East Coast Lows
Harden Up
Bureau of Meteorology website
The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research report