From the BOM animated satellite viewer. (Click to enlarge, or click here for the animation — if you have the bandwidth).
This image was taken at about 6pm EST as darkness started to sweep across the nation. (It is all dark now).
- Tropical Cyclone Debbie: Queenslanders preparing for worst cyclone since Yasi
- 256km Radar at Mackay (for a cat-4 the rain is very underwhelming)
- The fantastic Nullschool wind track image.
- Twitter Cyclone Debbie
For sheer weather voyerism (forgive me people of Ayr-to-Mackay): at the BOM satellite animation watch night befall the nation and notice how the the clouds appear for-all-the-world like river rapids flowing over rocks. Up close in the darkness, the clouds roil and churn like a wave smashing over a beach. (I’m sure if someone could capture some cropped video it would be impossible to tell if it were clouds or waves, see the “white-water” above Antarctica. See the two waves collide explosively into each other over the Pilbara in NW WA).
Best wishes to everyone in Debbie’s path tonight.
UPDATE:
12 noon QLD Time: Hamilton Island is on the edge of the eye right now according to the radar. Latest Observations at Hamilton Island show wind gusts peaked at 263km/hr at 10:30am Qld time. Lowest pressure 961HpA. About 120mm rain recorded in last 24 hours. [Copy of Obs, Copy of Radar.] On the Dvorak scale the cyclone was a 6.5 (8 is Max) but has lost some intensity and is down to 5.4. 947mB, 109.8 kts. [Dvorak copy here].
