Two individuals found themselves in need of a helicopter rescue after becoming trapped by rising floodwaters close to Townsville.

In the early morning hours, the CQ Rescue helicopter was dispatched to airlift them to safety, as the region experienced substantial overnight rainfall due to an active monsoon trough.

This weather system is intensifying, and the remnants of what was once Tropical Cyclone Koji are exacerbating the situation.

The overnight deluge resulted in significant rainfall, with Whites Hill near Townsville receiving 92 millimeters, Hamilton Island recording 89 millimeters, and Mirani, close to Mackay, collecting 88 millimeters.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has issued a warning for potentially heavy rainfall this weekend, posing a particular risk to areas north of Mount Isa.

The BoM also forecasts possible substantial downpours accompanied by thunderstorms between Cairns and Mackay.

There’s also set to be thunderstorms in the south-east over this weekend, and the weather bureau is warning they could potentially be severe.

Major flood warnings are still in place overnight for parts of the state.

Also more wet weather forecast for NSW and Victoria, which have also seen heavy falls already this week and flash flooding.

“The low over the South Coast is relatively slow-moving, so the southern half of the NSW coastline can expect the heaviest rain and showers,” Weatherzone said.

Sydney’s set for its soggiest weekend of summer so far, with Weatherzone forecasting around 20mm of rainfall possible on both Saturday and Sunday.

And that rain’s likely to persist along the NSW South Coast for much of the coming week they say.