Tropical cyclones bring heavy rain to Australia
Tropical cyclones bring heavy rain to Australia
Parts of Australia have seen torrential rain over the past few days thanks to two tropical cyclones skirting the northern and western coastlines.
Darwin took the full force of Cyclone Carlos, bringing copious amounts of rain and strong winds. 684mm of rain fell at Darwin airport in the past 4 days, closing the airport. The area has already equalled the record rainfall for the month.
The city dam overtopped leaving Darwinians to watch as belongings were swept away in the resulting floods. To add to the misery, city residents have been warned to watch out for snakes and crocodiles.
Although Carlos has weakened as it has moved inland, The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has warned the storm could re-intensify as it moves toward the mineral mining areas of Western Australia.
Meanwhile another cyclone is brewing off the coast northwest coast of Australia. Cyclone Dianne, which could reach a category 3 storm by Saturday is currently 250 miles off shore.
Being fed by very warm waters around the Australian coast the storm is continuing to grow. It is hoped that the full force of the storm will remain off shore, but if it changes direction, it could plough into drought ravaged Western Australia.
Dianne is the fifth tropical cyclone to pound Australia this season. Cyclone Yasi, one of the biggest cyclones ever seen in Australia devastated large swathes of Queensland earlier this month, killing 35 people.
Australians barely has time to draw breath before high winds (70kph) fanned bushfires on the outskirts of Perth, destroying homes.
This year was forecast to be a busy cyclone season because of a particularly strong La Nina. The opposite effect to the more famous El Nino, during La Nina, warm waters (30C) pool around the western Pacific fuelling powerful cyclones. This year, the effects have not only been felt in Australia, storms and flooding in Sri Lanka have been attributed to La Nina.
Although La Nina is weakening and receding, the Australian cyclone season doesn't end until May.
