Category: Weather

Today, 22nd April 2015, the print version of The Sydney Morning Herald trumpeted

STORM OF THE CENTURY

The link below provides the on-line version with the longer headline

“Storm of the century batters Sydney and the Hunter, leaving three dead and homes destroyed”

Cooler heads, yesterday, were describing the weather as “a one in ten year event”. The cause, a deep low pressure system off the coast, bringing cyclone like winds, torrential rain and big dangerous seas. The Port of Sydney was closed to commercial shipping for the first time in more than four years. This left a cruise liner, and its 2000 passengers, ‘bouncing around’ off the coast for more than 24 hours, before it could be berthed today.

In an evolving scientist’s rain gauge, more than 300 mm (12 inches) of rain have been collected in just over 48 hours! This is close to 25% of our annual average in just two days.

The mind immediately turned to Jane’s “UNLESS… Earth-friendly Friday: Water” series, in particular the Watershed issues. In an earlier post on this subject, reference was made to the watershed in the local parklands, merging into Quarry Creek, which eventually leads into the Lane Cove River.

For two days, Sydney residents have been urged not to go out unless it is necessary, but at lunch time today, the rain stopped (for a couple of hours) and the damaging winds also eased. Time to get out on a decent walk, with the camera of course.

An interesting series of photos to complete this post. There are unfortunately no “before” shots, as this normally dry creek bed is not very photogenic. Just three days ago, the local kids were doing circuits on their trail bikes!

There will be many large insurance claims after this unusual, indeed exceptional, weather event. People’s homes and cars destroyed by wind and fallen trees. At the time of writing, three lives lost, remarkably few in the circumstances. The only ‘damage’ sustained by an evolving scientist’s property, is negligible – a quantity of mud deposited in the swimming pool, largely from our neighbour’s “watershed”. 

Water is a precious resource! Just occasionally, there is a glut.