Australia Extreme Weather Event

AUSTRALIA the far north queensland coastal towns down for poss. cat 3 ,4 cyclone .CYCLONE "HAMISH".just thought someone in the "outside"world should know!!!!!


Mod Edit: All Caps – Please Review This Link.


[edit on 5-3-2009 by sanctum]

Do you have any websites or anything to support this.

If so, very very interesting and really would like to read up on this.

By the way don't use all caps.

[edit on 5-3-2009 by Republican08]

members.boardhost.com...

Some pictures and little info on it,

Hope all our Australian friends will be ok

www.theaustralian.news.com.au... 0.html?from=public_rss

www.abc.net.au...

australiasevereweather.com... sh.gif

added some links

[edit on 3/5/2009 by EvilBat]

googling is easier than waiting.

www.digitaljournal.com...

[url]http://www.google.com/search?q=cyclone+hamish[/rl]

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Why is this so extreme? I am not familiar with typical events in Au, but I live on the East coast of Florida and we have hurricanes every year and we face a Cat 4 or 5 pretty frequently. Here is the Hurricane (tropical cyclone) Scale:

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a 1-5 rating based on the hurricane's present intensity. This is used to give an estimate of the potential property damage and flooding expected along the coast from a hurricane landfall. Wind speed is the determining factor in the scale, as storm surge values are highly dependent on the slope of the continental shelf and the shape of the coastline, in the landfall region. Note that all winds are using the U.S. 1-minute average.

Category One Hurricane:
Winds 74-95 mph (64-82 kt or 119-153 km/hr). No significant damage to building structures. Damage primarily to unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery, and trees. Some damage to poorly constructed signs. Also, some coastal road flooding and minor pier damage. Hurricane Lili of 2002 made landfall on the Louisiana coast as a Category One hurricane. Hurricane Gaston of 2004 was a Category One hurricane that made landfall along the central South Carolina coast.


Category Two Hurricane:
Winds 96-110 mph (83-95 kt or 154-177 km/hr). Some roofing material, door, and window damage of buildings. Considerable damage to shrubbery and trees with some trees blown down. Considerable damage to mobile homes, poorly constructed signs, and piers. Coastal and low-lying escape routes flood 2-4 hours before arrival of the hurricane center. Small craft in unprotected anchorages break moorings. Hurricane Frances of 2004 made landfall over the southern end of Hutchinson Island, Florida as a Category Two hurricane. Hurricane Isabel of 2003 made landfall near Drum Inlet on the Outer Banks of North Carolina as a Category 2 hurricane.


Category Three Hurricane:
Winds 111-130 mph (96-113 kt or 178-209 km/hr). Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings with a minor amount of curtainwall failures. Damage to shrubbery and trees with foliage blown off trees and large trees blown down. Mobile homes and poorly constructed signs are destroyed. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by battering from floating debris. Terrain continuously lower than 5 ft above mean sea level may be flooded inland 8 miles (13 km) or more. Evacuation of low-lying residences with several blocks of the shoreline may be required. Hurricanes Jeanne and Ivan of 2004 were Category Three hurricanes when they made landfall in Florida and in Alabama, respectively.


Category Four Hurricane:
Winds 131-155 mph (114-135 kt or 210-249 km/hr). More extensive curtainwall failures with some complete roof structure failures on small residences. Shrubs, trees, and all signs are blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Extensive damage to doors and windows. Low-lying escape routes may be cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of structures near the shore. Terrain lower than 10 ft above sea level may be flooded requiring massive evacuation of residential areas as far inland as 6 miles (10 km). Hurricane Charley of 2004 was a Category Four hurricane made landfall in Charlotte County, Florida with winds of 150 mph. Hurricane Dennis (pdf) of 2005 struck the island of Cuba as a Category Four hurricane.


Category Five Hurricane:
Winds greater than 155 mph (135 kt or 249 km/hr). Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. All shrubs, trees, and signs blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Severe and extensive window and door damage. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of

As a member of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, I can confirm this is a strong cyclone.

Compared to the scale used for Hurricanes in the USA though, our category 3 is equivalent to a hurricane category one. Our category 5 is equivalent to a hurricane equivalent of 3. So yes, hurricanes are considered stronger than cyclones, but typhoons that affect asia each year are considered even stronger than hurricanes on the most part.

By the way, its nothing unusual for a cyclone to affect the region that it is in at the moment (north queensland). I myself work in Darwin, northern territory where we are also affected by cyclones, and have also worked in Australia "Cyclone Alley) which is north west australia

Here's some info off our website bom.gov.au

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b451796b022c.gif[/atsimg]

TOP PRIORITY FOR
TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVICE NUMBER 5
Issued by the Bureau of Meteorology, Brisbane
Issued at 11:00am on Friday the 6th of March 2009

A Cyclone WARNING is now current for coastal areas from Cape Melville to
Cardwell. A Cyclone WATCH is current for coastal and island communities from
Cardwell to Saint Lawrence.

Tropical Cyclone Hamish, a category 2 cyclone, is located in the northwestern
Coral Sea and at 10:00 am EST was estimated to be 210 kilometres northeast of
Cooktown and 310 kilometres north northeast of Cairns, moving south southwest at
10 kilometres per hour.

Tropical Cyclone Hamish is expected to move slowly south, bringing it a little
closer to the north tropical coast, while deepening. Damaging wind gusts may
affect coastal and island communities between Cape Melville and Cardwell during
this afternoon or evening.

In the longer term the system is expected to take a south-southeastwards track
and damaging wind gusts may develop about coastal and island communities between
Cardwell and Saint Lawrence within 24 to 48 hours.

As the cyclone approaches the coast, sea levels are expected to be elevated
above the normal expected tide along the coastline south of the cyclone. Large
waves may produce minor flooding along the foreshore. People living in areas
likely to be affected by this flooding should take measures to protect their
property as much as possible and be prepared to help their neighbours.


Details of Tropical Cyclone Hamish at 10:00 am EST:
.Centre located near...... 14.3 degrees South 146.8 degrees East
.Location accuracy........ within 37 kilometres
.Recent movement.......... towards the south southwest at 10 kilometres per hour
.Wind gusts near centre... 150 kilometres per hour
.Severity category........ 2
.Central pressure......... 982 hectoPascals

People between Cape Melville and Cardwell should immediately commence or
continue preparations, especially securing boats and property.

People between Cardwell and Mackay should consider what action they will need to
take if the cyclone threat increases. If you are unsure about the actions to be
taken, information is available from your local government or local State
Emergency Service.

Sorry double post, will keep updating though if necessary

Doesnt look like it will make landfall at the moment, but that could change

[edit on 5/3/2009 by OzWeatherman]

By no means am I saying a Cat 4 or 5 storm is not serious. I am just wondering wy it needs to be posted as the title was?

Thanks Oz, I didn't realize the scales were difeerent either.

[edit on 5/3/09 by spirit_horse]

[edit on 5/3/09 by spirit_horse]

Originally posted by OzWeatherman
As a member of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, I can confirm this is a strong cyclone.

Compared to the scale used for Hurricanes in the USA though, our category 3 is equivalent to a hurricane category one. Our category 5 is equivalent to a hurricane equivalent of 3. So yes, hurricanes are considered stronger than cyclones, but typhoons that affect asia each year are considered even stronger than hurricanes on the most part.

By the way, its nothing unusual for a cyclone to affect the region that it is in at the moment (north queensland). I myself work in Darwin, northern territory where we are also affected by cyclones, and have also worked in Australia "Cyclone Alley) which is north west australia

You are the FIRST individual I have heard aside from my Old Man, who actually affirms the notion that Typhoons are NOT simply a Pacific Naming for Hurricanes, but they are also in fact stronger than Hurricanes by-in-large. My Father sailed in the Pacific with the USN many years back, and yeah, the storms out there are extremely wicked.

We have some major Oceanic Weather in the Atlantic as well, such as Nor'Easters and the like, and I have been in Florida where during a Two Week Period we had close calls with 3 to 4 Hurricanes; AND I have been in my share of Tropical Storms (Including the Record Breaking TS Fay, which bounced around like a Freaking Pinball. I ran into it on 3 Separate Occasions lol), but the idea of a Typhoon just makes me shudder.

The only way yhat i can see this as being extremely bad is due to all the flooding they've had up here in qld..... where a few weeks ago 62% of Queensland was declared flooded. And Queensland is a bloody big state.

All this means is more flood waters....

I live in Cairns, far north Queensland -- so far experiencing some heavy rain. I for one wouldn't mind the excitement of a cyclone finally hitting us... they always seem to just miss Cairns lately. Looks like this one will be no different, oh well.

reply to post by TheAgentNineteen


Well Im paid to know this stuff

Fact is that there is a much larger body of warm water out in the middle of the pacific to heat, causing the potential for stronger tropical storms to occur. Circular storms draw all their energy from water.

Most hurricanes draw their energy from the east atlantic, off Africa, and tour cyclones draw water from both the pacific and indian oceans. Both these areas dont have as much water in them as where typhoons are born, and are likely to cross land much earlier, thus not drawing as much heat.

Also, cyclones in the southern hemisphere swing to the south east, unlike hurricanes and typhoons which swing northwest (thanks to the coriolis effect). This is why most storms off the east coast swing out to sea, and most west coast cyclones cross land, but it should be noted that this isnt always the case

All our models are going for this one out to seas, but it should bring some wild weather to the east coast

reply to post by Navieko


on the other hand,i experienced cyclone "larry`s full force on the 11 march 2006 the winds at the eye wall where my house used to be,were around 285`-302 kph i watched as hose after house exploded befor me including every house in our area ,a 3 tonne pac of railway steel which was weighing down loose roofing iron wasfound all scattered and twisted over distance of 400 meters ,the roof of the main house ,about 4tns, was fond on the other side of the hundred and fifty acre property!!it was a pure freak that hundreds wer`nt killed,and no ,the outer reef will not stop cat 5 nor will the coastal mountains, cairns is way overdue for a large catastrophic storm,,and the "powers that be"are well aware of it and and are working hard to reduce the amount of expected fatalitys!!
there`s very little history regarding nt queensland weather.when it comes to australias colonial weather history,anythin,thanks again,,,,cheersg before 1901, and your reading someones basic observations in a diary,,so enjoy your storm when it comes,,,,,,oh and thanks oz weatherman for the posted links ,i didnt have one on posting but new someone would come through

Originally posted by MEATPIE
AUSTRALIA the far north queensland coastal towns down for poss. cat 3 ,4 cyclone .CYCLONE "HAMISH".just thought someone in the "outside"world should know!!!!!

Mod Edit: All Caps – Please Review This Link.


[edit on 5-3-2009 by sanctum]

And can you please explain to me how this is extreme?
I live right in the path of it and there seems to be nothing extreme about it to me, just another cyclone that we get every other year.

I can't remember how many times I have heard that we are going to get more in number as well as more extreme cyclones only to get the same as we so every year

Here's a couple of links relating to it too

This one for all QLD information

www.bom.gov.au...

This one for the observations, should show the wind speeds as it passes down the coast. Looks like the winds speeds arent that high as of yet

www.bom.gov.au...

Originally posted by OzWeatherman
Compared to the scale used for Hurricanes in the USA though, our category 3 is equivalent to a hurricane category one. Our category 5 is equivalent to a hurricane equivalent of 3. So yes, hurricanes are considered stronger than cyclones, but typhoons that affect asia each year are considered even stronger than hurricanes on the most part.

I always thought that the only difference was the naming due to what ocean they were active in. See you learn something new everyday on ATS. A star for the great and powerful OZ.

You all stay safe and dry down there…

reply to post by defcon5


Well technically they are named due to the ocean, but the varying areas of the different water masses combined with warm ocean temperatures, is he main factor in detererming the strength. There are also other factors such as wind shear etc that will affect the structure too.

It sounds like some of our models are going for the cyclone to cross the coast near Mackay, but its still way to early to see what will happen

here is the updated prediction map
As you can see it is currently a cat 4 expected to hit cat 5





I was reading a news article today that stated that it had caught the weather bureau off guard on how quickly it has intensified they hadnt expected it to hit a cat 4 for another 24 hrs

Originally posted by Trigger82
I was reading a news article today that stated that it had caught the weather bureau off guard on how quickly it has intensified they hadnt expected it to hit a cat 4 for another 24 hrs

Yep thats true

The Queensland severe weather section was way off on their predictions. We had been discussing it for a few days prior to any warning being given out though, we go through several stages like low key standby to high key standby etc, but the intensification was astounding.

By the way, the threat map only has it at a category 4 max at the moment, not a category 5

Above it shows it expected to hit a 5 near the Hayman Is's, but its been updated again, looking at the updated map im assuming it has now been upgraded to a cat 5 as this is been typed???