Topic: Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi : from 30 January

[Paul D]

Yasi is tracking almost directly towards Willis Island and has regestered gusts so far to 180km/h be interesting to see how long the obs last.
Bom Weather Observations for Willis Island - http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDQ60801/IDQ60801.94299.shtml
Latest obs to 5-30am to 8-05am
                      AppTemp°C     RelHum%       Wind Dir Wind Wind  Wind  Wind   Press  Press  Rain since
Date/Time   Temp°C        Dew P           Delta-T°C Spdkm/hGustkm/h kts  kts   QNH hPa MSL hPa 9ammm
02/08:05am   25.6     7.2     25.6    100    0.0    N    133    180    72    97    957.9     -    28.0
02/08:00am    25.6    6.8    25.6    100    0.0    N    135    172    73    93    960.0    -    26.0
02/07:59am    25.6    7.2    25.6    100    0.0    N    133    172    72    93    960.2    -    25.8
02/07:52am    25.4    8.2    25.4    100    0.0    N    126    165    68    89    962.5    -    23.0
02/07:46am    25.5    8.0    25.5    100    0.0    N    128    169    69    91    964.7    -    21.4
02/07:38am    25.4    9.3    25.4    100    0.0    N    120    169    65    91    967.0    -    19.4
02/07:37am    25.5    9.6    25.4    99    0.1    N    119    150    64    81    967.4    -    19.2
02/07:30am    25.3    8.8    25.3    100    0.0    N    122    158    66    85    969.4    -    18.0
02/07:21am    25.2    10.7    25.2    100    0.0    N    111    154    60    83    971.5    -    17.2
02/07:10am    25.2    11.1    25.2    100    0.0    N    109    145    59    78    973.5    -    15.8
02/07:00am    25.2    11.4    25.1    99    0.1    N    107    139    58    75    975.7    -    14.8
02/06:49am    25.2    11.8    24.9    98    0.2    NNW    104    139    56    75    977.1    -    13.8
02/06:30am    25.2    12.7    25.1    99    0.1    N    100    133    54    72    979.3    -    11.8
02/06:15am    25.6    12.5    24.7    95    0.6    NNW    102    139    55    75    981.4    -    10.8
02/06:00am    25.6    12.4    24.6    94    0.7    S    102    137    55    74    983.2    983.1    10.6
02/05:56am    25.5    13.0    24.4    94    0.8    S    98    137    53    74    983.4    -    10.4
02/05:30am    26.2    14.1    24.2    89    1.4    S    95    124    51    67    985.4    -    10.2
02/05:27am    26.3    14.3    24.3    89    1.4    S    95    124    51    67    985.6    -    10.0

[Steven]

Now down to 937.6 hPa at Willis Island with the eyewall surrounding it.

Radar is definitely down, with no update since 8am and the anemometer is broken. Although no word yet about the meteorological station (supposedly it's Cat 5 rated). The whole island could be under water by the storm surge...

A very unwieldy beast on our hands. I hope everybody up in Cairns to Townsville has evacuated or found adequate shelter. Almost nothing is going to stand in the way of Yasi when she makes landfall!

[Jimmy Deguara]

At first, I was wandering what the fuss was all about but with category 5 status and perhaps conditions adequate for a continued intensification, that makes for concern.

Very intense with impressive structure and given its size, one of the larger intense tropical cyclones you can expect along the Queensland coastline.

Regards,

Jimmy Deguara

[Michael Kelly]

Its certainly been interesting watching the coverage. I guess people are finally getting the message about natures fury. I think the storm surge will cause the most damage. Although 300 kilometer an hour winds are not to be sneezed at.

[Paul D]

Yasi appears to have slowed slightly over the last couple of hours,
at 9pm
IDQP0005
Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
Queensland
Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre
Media: Transmitters serving the area from Cape Flattery to Sarina and inland to
the Northern Territory border are requested to USE the Standard Emergency
Warning Signal before broadcasting the following warning.

TOP PRIORITY
TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVICE NUMBER 21
Issued by the Bureau of Meteorology, Brisbane
Issued at 8:50pm EST on Wednesday the 2nd of February 2011

A Cyclone WARNING is current for coastal and island communities from Cape
Flattery to Sarina, extending west across the tropical interior to the Northern
Territory border.

At 9:00 pm EST Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi, Category 5 was estimated to be 145
kilometres east southeast of Cairns and 110 kilometres east of Innisfail and
moving west southwest at 25 kilometres per hour.

THE VERY DESTRUCTIVE CORE OF CYCLONE YASI WILL CROSS THE COAST NEAR INNISFAIL
CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT, WITH A DANGEROUS STORM TIDE AND BATTERING WAVES SOUTH OF THE
CYCLONE CENTRE.

Tropical Cyclone Yasi, CATEGORY 5, will continue to move in a west-southwesterly
direction and is expected to cross the coast near Innisfail close to midnight.

Coastal residents between Cairns and Ayr are specifically warned of an EXTREMELY
DANGEROUS SEA LEVEL RISE [i.e. storm tide] as the cyclone approaches, crosses
the coast and moves inland.

Higher than normal tides will exceed the high water mark with damaging waves and
flooding in low lying areas in remaining warning areas to the south of Ayr.  

VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds with gusts up to 290 km/h are expected to develop between
Cairns and Ingham during the next few hours as the cyclone approaches. These
VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds will extend inland to the nearby ranges including the
Atherton Tablelands.  

Due to the large size of the cyclone, people in the path of the VERY DESTRUCTIVE
WINDS are likely to experience these conditions for about 3 to 4 hours.

DESTRUCTIVE winds with gusts in excess of 125 km/h between Cape Tribulation and
Ayr are expected to spread inland overnight.

DAMAGING WINDS with gusts to 90 km/hr are occurring in remaining coastal areas
between Cape Flattery and Sarina, and are forecast to spread inland and west to
Mt Isa during Thursday.

Winds are forecast to gradually ease about the east coast during Thursday
morning as the cyclone moves inland.

FLOODING RAINS will develop from Cooktown to Sarina tonight and gradually extend
inland.

People in the path of the very dangerous cyclone should stay calm and remain in
a secure shelter, above the expected water level, while the very destructive
winds continue.
- Do not venture outside if you find yourself in the eye of the cyclone; very
destructive winds from a different direction could resume at any time.
- Follow the evacuation advice or directions of Police, Emergency Services
personnel and local authorities.

People in remaining areas between Cape Flattery and Sarina and extending west
across the tropical interior to the Northern Territory border, should complete
preparations quickly and be prepared to shelter in a safe place.
- Boats and outside property should be secured.
- For cyclone preparedness and safety advice, visit Queensland's Disaster
Management Services website [www.disaster.qld.gov.au]
- For emergency assistance call the Queensland State Emergency Service [SES] on
132 500 [for assistance with storm damage, rising flood water, fallen trees on
buildings or roof damage].

Details of Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi at 9:00 pm EST:
.Centre located near...... 17.4 degrees South 147.1 degrees East
.Location accuracy........ within 20 kilometres
.Recent movement.......... towards the west southwest at 25 kilometres per hour
.Wind gusts near centre... 285 kilometres per hour
.Severity category........ 5
.Central pressure......... 930 hectoPascals


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Flinders Reef recorded sustained wind speed of 130km/h at 3pm and max recorded gusts of 167km/h at around 2pm
Flinders Reef was app 45-60km from the eye wall area as Yasi past to the North.
below
Latest BOM track Map
also Cairns 256km radar at 8.30pm showning clear eye.
and also from Willis Island the last 128km radar image at 8am this morning

[Paul D]

As of 11pm QLD time
BOM position in - TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVICE NUMBER 23
Issued by the Bureau of Meteorology, Brisbane
Issued at 10:56pm EST on Wednesday the 2nd of February 2011
. . . . .
At 11:00 pm EST Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi, Category 5 was estimated to be 125
kilometres southeast of Cairns and 65 kilometres east southeast of Innisfail and
moving west southwest at 25 kilometres per hour.
Tropical Cyclone Yasi, CATEGORY 5, will continue to move in a west-southwesterly
direction and is expected to cross the coast near Mission Beach close to
midnight.
. . . . .
Details of Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi at 11:00 pm EST:
.Centre located near...... 17.7 degrees South 146.6 degrees East
.Location accuracy........ within 20 kilometres
.Recent movement.......... towards the west southwest at 25 kilometres per hour
.Wind gusts near centre... 285 kilometres per hour
.Severity category........ 5
.Central pressure......... 930 hectoPascals

- - - - - - -

Below latest BOM track map 11pm
and Cairns radar 128km at 11pm

[Harley Pearman]

Wind observations for Tropical Cyclone Yasi from Lucinda Point

I was watching Tropical Cyclone Yasi make landfall and switching between Weather Stations South Johnstone and Lucinda Point. The South Johnstone Station appears to have been damaged and I was unable to continue monitoring wind speeds here. However Lucinda Point Weather Station (Station ID 032141) Latitude 18.52 degrees and Longitude 146.39 degrees (Height 10 metres) provides some of the better wind records that can be obtained from Landfall close to the eye.

The station site shows peak wind gusts of 185 km/h being sustained over 5 minutes from 11.27 pm until 11.31 pm switching from the east to the north with wind speed from 107 to 115 km/h. The eye passed to the north of this weather station.

Wind gusts exceeding 100 km/h started to occur at this site from 3.30 pm 2/2/11 and were still continuing at 4.30 am 3/2/11. The strongest wind speed occurred at 2.14 am (137 km/h) and more peak gusts of 183 km/h occurred at 12.16 am to 12.17 am and a gust to 180 km/h occurred at 2.30 am - 3/2/11. The strongest winds at Lucinda Point were being recorded from 11.21 pm until 2.30 am over a three hour period at the time landfall was occurring.


Harley Pearman

[Michael Bath]

This combined satellite and radar animation of cyclone Yasi is impressive:

http://www.theweatherchaser.com/videos/201101-tropical-cyclone-yasi

[Lightning Chaser]

With the prospect of TC Yasi going down as a memorable weather event for QLD, i figured it would be a great opportunity for me to experience my first tropical cyclone. Leaving southern NSW monday evening i managed to make my way to northern QLD via the Bruce Highway, arriving in the Cyclone Warned region by early wednesday morning, about 12-18 hours ahead of the expected crossing. Along the way i had filled the car with supplies such as water, food, fuel, torches etc to ensure i could survive in my car for several days should the need arise.

Weighing up factors including the low lying and flat terrain through which the highway runs, the threat of a large storm surge and the prospects of innundation by floodwaters as well as extended power outages - i decided i needed to find a location that would allow me to ride out the cyclose in a reasonably safe area while still having a chance of escape southwards once it passed. Townsville seemed a good compromise between being close enough to the cyclone for some damaging winds but not being too far into what would surely become a disaster zone. Sure i would have liked to experince the strongest winds but the inconvenience didn't seem worth it. I checked into a motel just west of townsville, at the motel were several families that had evacuated from regions closer to the impact.

Throughout the morning and early afternoon winds gradually increased from about 40km/hr up to gale force however there was little if any rain until about midday when it suddenly became quite heavy. During the afternoon i watched the cricket while keeping an eye on the winds and warning messages on the tv. I certainly was quite excited by what may unfold that evening, however was beggining to get quite frustrated when the winds seemed to be struggling to exceed 80km/hr by about 6-7pm. Luckily it was not long after this when the first gusts began to top 100km/hr, then 120 shortly afterwards. It was about this stage that the power blacked out. Gales continued throughout the night peaking at 140km/hr, however it was difficult to get footage with very limited lighting so i found myself sleeping from about 1am till about 6am. I awoke to find the winds had eased slightly but were still perhaps 80-90km/hr with some rain periods.

The motel i stayed in did not sustain major structural damage however much of the lattice work was broken and the shade cloth covering a pool had ripped off and was flapping around. I chose not to drive around townsville to assess the damage however judging by radio reports it was a similar story throughout the city with massive numbers of trees down but minimal structural damage. Cabin Fever was well and truly setting in by late morning with no TV or Air Conditioning, realising that the winds had eased and rainfall had not been excessively heavy i began to make enquiries as to whether the highway to the south would be passable. No one could give me a definite no so i figured i would try my luck. Unfortunately i only made it about 10km before a fallen powerline held up traffic for 1 hour. Once this was cleared i travelled another 40 km only to find a flooded river that local were saying would not be passable for 2 days at least (i later heard that massive traffic jams developed south of this river).

With radio updates indicating that the road west of townsville to charters towers was still passable i figured this would be my only option other than an extended stay in townsville, which at that time was still without power and at threat of having no water. En route to charters towers the tree damge became steadily less as i headed west, the only real concern was the Burdekin River which i had heard was approching the bridge and rising rapidly. It was indeed an impressive sight with water thundering downstream but was still a couple of feet below road level so i was able to cross. 2-3 hours later water was 1 metre above this bridge so it was lucky i got across when i did.

There was little evidence of cyclonic activity south of charters towers and the rest of the long drive home was fairly uneventful. I opted to drive inland through emerald dalby toowomba and then the new england highway. The highlights of the drive home were seeing 2 large feral pigs splashing around in a creek (where's a rifle when you need it?)and then sighting a dingo about 50 km later - both on the road between charters towers and claremont.

Anyway here is the footage i captured in townsville during the cyclone.

Tropical Cyclone Yasi strikes Queensland