The weather in our neck of the woods right now is a bit perplexing (for some), frightening (for others) and awesome (for everyone).
There is a tropical cyclone- Hamish is the name for any and all interested- which is currently making its way down the east coast of Queensland at about 15 km/hr. Hamish was named late Thursday night and spent most of yesterday in a quiet developmental phase and has emerged today as a petulant adolescent- building into an impressive weather system. Today he has just about reached maturity I think and is a category 4 (out of possible 5) storm.
Cyclone warnings and watches had been issued for Townsville from late yesterday and we had been making preparations for the worst. We have been spared to this point and it looks as if we will miss the worst of the storm with the exception of a few showers today. I suspect others along the coast to our south may not be so fortunate. Hamish is packing wind gusts of up to 260km/hr near the centre of the storm. This is "Cyclone Larry" or "Hurricane Katrina" type intensity.
Radar image of Hamish @ 5:00pm
Satellite image of Hamish @ 5:00pm (Both images courtesy of weatherzone.com.au and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology)
In light of the possibility of the cyclone coming to land near us, the local cycling club has cancelled the time trial up the Paluma Range which was scheduled to take place tomorrow, until the Easter weekend.
Just as well for me. I still haven't been given the "all clear" from the doc to return to racing. Plus I don't like hills to begin with; so an excuse to get out of a 20km uphill TT is fine by me. I've been wearing one of these little puppies and keeping a diary of readings- given that the one from the doc's office crapped out and lost all of the readings from a 24 hour period.
Another appointment Wednesday- here's hoping the issue can be identified and remedial measures put in place.
It seems a bit eerie sitting here with this massive force of nature churning offshore and yet there isn't a breath of wind through our yard. As I look out from the front deck, I can see a few palm fronds gently rippling in a light zephyr. Hardly indicative of what's happening out there.
One of our cycling group has just sent a text- there's a ride on in the morning- "weather permitting."
Cheers- ride safe
BoaB
Oh yeah- the numbers from February
13 rides (which is more than I thought given the weather)
Km for Feb: 415.6
Total for 2009: 1570.3
2 comments:
Hey BoaB, just imagine if you could time the TT turn just as the cyclone hit with the wind at your back.
Club record for sure. Ha.
-B
It sure would have made for some interesting riding.
Cheers
BoaB
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