Cyclone Ita is a class 5 cyclone which is predicted to cross the coast at Cooktown, About 150 miles north of here. It is also veering south, so we could get nailed. My brother Stevo has been up on the roof screwing everything down, and we are doing the stocking up thing.

Worst case we could see a ten-metre flood/storm surge, and we are at about 2 metres ASL.

So, if the power stays up, and the cell phone towers stay dry, will be able to report in more or less real time.

Used to have discussions with some of the left-coast Zoners about big storm versus earthquake - I have always thought the earthquake threat was better - cause by the time you realized it was on, you just enjoyed the ride, instead of the big buildup.

So now, first cyclone.

Hope you stay dry and intact!! I grew up on Atlantic Hurricanes, so I know it can be wild ride.

Hang on tight! And swim if the surge hits.

Cairns is about where the bottom edge of the cyclone touches the eastern side of the peninsula.

Killer image...

Hang tight friend, hoping for a quick passage!

It weakened from a Cat 5 down to a Cat 3, but the latest trajectory has it going more southerly toward Cairns. Hopefully it will veer more to the west and spare Wagga.

http://mashable.com/2014/04/10/intense-t...land-australia/

Cooktown took a bit of a beating, most people have lost power.
We'll know more at daylight in several hours.

In Cairns, the official weather description is PDR (pissing down rain) and we have high tide in an hour or so, there could be some flooding. More later.

Good news that you can get a post to the forum, Wagga! We're all hoping for the best.

Mid-morning now, everything has settled down & we didn't get flooded. Local winds were less than 70 mph.

Cooktown - 1 house lost it's roof, and an infamous pub was seriously damaged, roof gone too.

No injuries or lives lost to date, though 20 people were killed in the Solomon Islands early on.

About 9-10,000 people were without power last night.

Here is a full report from 7 News.

Glad everyone is okay there - sad about the islands, though

Report from yesterday.

Today I rode downtown, saw a few trees down. I can report that the pool looks exactly like the first photo.

All kinds of glass-bottomed & other tourist boats in port, the islands are deserted.

All in all, we got lucky. Now, I'm no longer a cyclone virgin!

Wagga, for both myself and other fans of your erudite postings, did you move recently? I thought you were based in Northern Cal. But you are obviously posting from Australia now. Temporary? Permanent?

Almost a year ago now. Steve C & Bee were among those who saw me off. I did change my Location setting - I guess no-one noticed 'til now. I was in Fresno, though, half a mile from Steve C.

As for erudite, thank you, but rude would be closer to the mark. This is a family site, so the good jokes are posted at Tarzan's Tripes Forever.

Actually, SN asked this same question months ago, but it got buried.

Steve and I sent Wagga to Oz so that the rest of us would have a connection there when we come for a visit

Still laughing at the boaring picture on the bus.


Glad your fair city made it through the cyclone pretty much ok.

Fair city indeed!

Just bought a ticket to the Suzanne Vega show. I know the players in the opening act. And KT Tunstall next month. For the size of the town, it attracts some very good acts. In all honesty, I think the artists come here for a tropical paradise holiday, and just put on a show for fun.

Any Zoner is welcome here. Don't forget That I have local friends visiting California, though. Here.

On my first cruise ever last year (to Alaska from Vancouver) I wound up having a good time with two gals from Sydney. Oddly enough, I wound up talking with a couple from Sydney last week in the line for the Craig Ferguson show in LA.

The conversations in all 4 cases have put a little possibility in the back of my mind regarding visiting Australia.

Coincidentally, that LA stop was part of a 10 day Southern California road trip that saw me seeking out (among other things, including hang gliding!) the Skyline Trail trailhead (Cactus to Clouds) in Palm Springs, just to see it and consider yet another possibility! Somewhat intimidating -- both the obviously steep first portions of the trail as well as the grandeur of the mountain (San Jacinto) itself. Quite an impressive hunk of rock (what else with 10,000 plus feet of elevation change, with the slopes hitting Palm Springs itself?).

Steve, you "followed" me with my Grand Canyon rim to rim . . . have you ever done the Skyline Trail?

> . . . have you ever done the Skyline Trail?

No.... too many yet unexplored places in the Sierra for me to think about So Cal hikes.

Small world. A Geologist coworker just got back today from a month down under in Oz and Tasmania. Turns out he and his family were in Cairns when the cyclone hit. Same report, heavy rain and palm fronds in the pool but nothing too bad.