The two weeks of >30C weather have screeched to a halt and today we only reached 15C. However, we've been looking forward to some wet weather after hot dry conditions browned the landscape. Alas, we were not looking forward to the torrential downpours greeting us today. It started raining at noon and five hours later we've had around 70-80mm, or three inches for those mired in imperial measures.
Buried in there was some of the heaviest rain I've ever seen - the kind that yields 25mm (=1 inch) in 5 minutes or less. Our garden is flooded and looking at the met office real-time rainfall maps I'd say there's a mass of water to come. The source of the rain is interesting. It's being fed by a jet stream in from the remnants of cyclone Yasi, the biggest storm to have hit the east coast of Australia in living memory, which takes us presumably back to c. 1920. The tropical low pressure system it became ended up in flooding Alice Springs! and now the rain-bearing cloud still swirling in central Australia is being syphoned off to our 'benefit'. So the rain we had to today part originated in the southern ocean and partly neat Vanuatu in the Coral Sea.
Oh well, I off to look again at Dumaresq Creek which I'd guess is now at its highest flood level in years. There will not be much damage because Armidale's flood-plain is all parkland - excellent foresight and planning.
AS
1 comment:
Your city fathers certainly had foresight when they ensured that your town was not built on a flood plain. I am glad that you also give your rain measurements in inches as some of us older folk still think in inches, pounds and miles! Luckily we in England have not had the extremes of weather that you plucky Ozzies have had to endure.Richard.
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