We have had an interesting couple of days here, and once again Mackay has been extraordinarily lucky.
On Thursday morning a tropical low which had been hovering in the Coral Sea to the northeast of us, deepened into a tropical cyclone, but only a category one, which is not very strong. It was travelling south east on a path which would have it crossing the coast well south of us. We were aware, but did not take any precautions as we did not need to do anything at that point. By mid-afternoon it had deepened to a low category two, still moving fast in the same direction, so we still did nothing. By 6pm it had suddenly deepened to category 4, and was moving slightly north, then by 7 pm it was category 5, with 300 km/hour winds at the centre! It was still due to cross the coast south of us, but we were in the light red zone which would give us pretty strong winds.
We decided we had better take down some of our hanging baskets - quite a funny exercise for anyone watching! They are heavy and Bill had to stand on a ladder (only low) with me balancing the bases on my head as we tried to lower them onto the ground!
We have a very strong house so were not worrying too much about structural damage with the cyclone to the south of us. Thank heavens it went further south, very fast, and crossed the coast about 300 km away, fortunately in a remote uninhabited area of the coast. There was still a lot of damage to Rockhampton and Yeppoon, but the cyclone had weakened in intensity then.
This was a really strange cyclone - usually they take a couple of days to develop, nobody can ever remember one deepening in intensity as quickly as this one did, especially as it was moving so fast. We can't control the weather though.
Mackay has been threatened over the years by cyclones, but the last major cyclone to hit Mackay was in the 1950s, and before that I think the 1918 cyclone was a particularly deadly one. It wiped out over half of Mackay and killed a lot of people. I suppose one day our luck will run out and we will have a devastating one cross here - I hope that is many years away yet!
Now we just have to hang the baskets again! I discovered one heeded lots of attention as it was full of mealybug which I could only see when I peered closely at it on the ground. I have repotted some cuttings, but we will wait for our six foot tall 21 year old grandson to come in the hang the other baskets/
On Thursday morning a tropical low which had been hovering in the Coral Sea to the northeast of us, deepened into a tropical cyclone, but only a category one, which is not very strong. It was travelling south east on a path which would have it crossing the coast well south of us. We were aware, but did not take any precautions as we did not need to do anything at that point. By mid-afternoon it had deepened to a low category two, still moving fast in the same direction, so we still did nothing. By 6pm it had suddenly deepened to category 4, and was moving slightly north, then by 7 pm it was category 5, with 300 km/hour winds at the centre! It was still due to cross the coast south of us, but we were in the light red zone which would give us pretty strong winds.
We decided we had better take down some of our hanging baskets - quite a funny exercise for anyone watching! They are heavy and Bill had to stand on a ladder (only low) with me balancing the bases on my head as we tried to lower them onto the ground!
We have a very strong house so were not worrying too much about structural damage with the cyclone to the south of us. Thank heavens it went further south, very fast, and crossed the coast about 300 km away, fortunately in a remote uninhabited area of the coast. There was still a lot of damage to Rockhampton and Yeppoon, but the cyclone had weakened in intensity then.
This was a really strange cyclone - usually they take a couple of days to develop, nobody can ever remember one deepening in intensity as quickly as this one did, especially as it was moving so fast. We can't control the weather though.
Mackay has been threatened over the years by cyclones, but the last major cyclone to hit Mackay was in the 1950s, and before that I think the 1918 cyclone was a particularly deadly one. It wiped out over half of Mackay and killed a lot of people. I suppose one day our luck will run out and we will have a devastating one cross here - I hope that is many years away yet!
Now we just have to hang the baskets again! I discovered one heeded lots of attention as it was full of mealybug which I could only see when I peered closely at it on the ground. I have repotted some cuttings, but we will wait for our six foot tall 21 year old grandson to come in the hang the other baskets/
So glad to hear that it missed you. A very opportune time to take the baskets down, even if you didn't need to.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were spared the full energy of that storm - they must be so frightening - but at least this one let you find the mealybugs. Thank heaven for tall sons and grandsons!
ReplyDeleteGlad you missed the cyclone, Mackay must be in a good spot down the coast for so many cyclones to miss it over the years.
ReplyDeleteYes do wait for your tall grandsons to come round and rehang the pots for you.
How scary that sounds! So happy the cyclone swept passed you, and you and yours are safe.
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