New year gets off to a wet start
Mon 07 January 2008
Jacqueline Lewis, Journalism major
The wild and wet weather continued from Christmas well into 2008 on the Sunshine Coast thanks to a low pressure system which has now moved south.
However, after two weeks of heavy rain, damaging winds and extremely high tides, the Coast has finally seen some sun again.
The low pressure system that affected South-East Queensland last week has now depleted, with forecasts of improved conditions on the Sunshine Coast over the weekend proving accurate when the rain eased on Saturday. However, the wild weather is predicted to return again by Tuesday, with wind gusts of 46 km/h predicted for Wednesday.
The Coast has certainly been battered recently, with Tewantin recording rainfall of 40.8mm on January 3 and wind gusts of 32 km/h on January 4. Maroochydore also had 63mm of rain and 50 km/h wind gusts on Friday 4. While local residents had been spared the normal sweltering summer heat over the past few weeks, temperatures have increased again with the clearing weather.
While tourists weren’t too pleased with the rain, local Coast residents were grateful that the dams finally had a decent top up.
“Sure the dams filling up [was] great, we did need it,” 19-year-old local student Sierra Cleveland said. “At least now we don’t have to worry as much about our water.”
Despite the current drought, the Bureau of Meteorology’s 2007 Climate Statement has found Australia received slightly above average rainfall throughout 2007. The statement from the National Climate Centre also found that although temperatures are currently cool, 2007 recorded mean temperatures of 0.67 degrees celcius above average, resulting in the country’s sixth warmest year on record.
With the increased rain predicted to continue through January and February due to the La Niña weather pattern, Coast residents should prepare for a wet remainder to the summer.
As Sierra Cleveland puts it: “The rain was great, but what about some sun for our holidays? I think we’ve had enough wet weather for now!”
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