Freak weather

Freak cold and wet weather has caused mayhem in the East Kimberley as tourism and agriculture ground to a halt.

The record for rain in June was smashed with 98.6 millimetres recorded up to Tuesday afternoon in Kununurra, breaking the last record set in 1957 of 86.7 millimetres.

Pumpkin and melon growers were waiting on Tuesday to see what effect the wet conditions would have on their crops with worries about fungus growth and splitting being major concerns.

Tour operators were also very hard hit with many tours cancelled because of conditions and tourists trying to rebook during times when facilities are heading towards the peak of the season.

Closure of the Gibb River Road and the Spring Creek Track to the Bungles also caused problems with tourists electing to hang around in Kununurra to await their reopening.

Caravan parks have been packed with tourists holding back, whilst new arrivals boosted numbers to bursting point.

The Department of Environment and Conservation has praised the efforts of the SES in dropping in emergency food supplies to 25 people stranded on the Mitchell Plateau.

The department expected to reopen the Spring Creek Track today, with the Gibb River Road being reopened as it dried out.

Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Yanhui said the conditions that led to the cold snap were rare, with a deep low pressure system off the NSW coast drawing down slow-moving middle level cloud from the Timor Sea through the Kimberley, across the NT and even as far as Qld.

She would not rule out that the pattern could repeat itself but said this would be exceptionally rare.

On the more positive side some businesses such as food outlets and the video store have been doing excellent business as farm workers, who could not get onto the fields looked for something to do in town.