Any thoughts on cyclone preparedness?
As far as for the NT the bureau predicts that because of the el Nino effect this season there's a 60% chance of a cyclone developing over NT waters - although a great majority will be within the Gulf of Carpentaria. Usually we get around 2-5 systems in this el Nino influence but they hardly affect the coast of NT.
Monica last year just missed us by around 150km to the south of Darwin but this was in the neutral phase and very, very late. What was unusual for Monica is that she hugged the NT coastline as did Ingrid the previous year (almost an identical track from QLD) but Monica's eye was still over warm water and yet her lower main body was over land - we all thought, as did the forcasters, that Monica would have weakened more significantly since over land, but as nature would have it, she continued on a SW path and continued feeding warm, moist air from the north.
I must say that preparedness in Darwin was good, but a lot of folk really did miss the point that Monica was a dangerous system. She was fairly large and had a low central pressure and because she was still feeding moist air from the sea to the north she was STILL rated Cat4 right up until she turned SW across the coast and missed Darwin.
Many people still did not clean up their yards and i noted that businesses around Darwin did not clean their yards up either. It beggars belief that a large majority of the business population did not get their act together - even with council input - they just did not head the warnings.
It would be interesting to read of others who have experienced the same in far north QLD or upper NW WA? (Population perameters accepted!)
