Ex-cyclone forms 5500km cloud band as it leaves Australia

Ex-tropical cyclone Kirrily is finally being pulled away from Australia - and creating a satellite-seen marvel in the process.

Kirrily made landfall just north of Townsville on January 25 as a category two cyclone, and has since been downgraded.

It nonetheless brought heavy rain and flooding across multiple states.

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Now, it's finally being pulled off the NSW coast by a cold front and low-pressure trough, Weatherzone has reported.

"Remarkably, the moisture associated with ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily is now being carried thousands of kilometres across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand and South Pacific Ocean by the polar jet stream," the weather reporting site said.

Satellite images from yesterday afternoon show this taking the form of a colossal 5500km cloud band.

Heavy rain warnings were issued for parts of New Zealand's South Island.