What's the temperature where you are???

[MROO]

It's 34°F with a "snow-cast" cloud cover. It's light, bright and comfortable out. School is cancelled and last night's 5-6 inches of white stuff is PERFECT for snowmen and snowball fights!
So ...
Where are all the children?

 

[kikiruru]

Is it normal there to have those sort of temps this time of year? They seem to be all over the place.

We usually have up and down weather during the winter months

quite frequently we have a/c and heater on within the same 24 hour day

Some of the coldest mornings can end up being the warmest hottest days and some of the warmest wee hours of the early morning and mornings can be the high of the day with the temp dropping fast

The week we had the snow
I wore my heavy winter coat for 2 days and 6 nights only when taking bj outside to do his business and staying on my patio or when I went out walking with the walker and let the snow fall on me before the sidewalks were covered

I only wore it the last two winters in the mornings only and by the time the sun warmed up the coat was in my backpack

The last time I wore it in the daytime was in December 2022

I don’t remember the last time before the “historic January of 25” that I had to drip water that many nights in a row

 

[5Australorpasaures]

12:30 PM 36F with some misty rain after maybe 4" of snow, roads are wide open.

 

[kikiruru]

Last night around 6pm
I heard a cricket or crickets chirping
I sat out there for a while it was so nice no mosquitoes

 

[Nym]

Last night around 6pm
I heard a cricket or crickets chirping
I sat out there for a while it was so nice no mosquitoes

I bought this Mozzie Zapper bracelet to ward off the biters on the muggy evening walks with the dogs, and it works! It's also dead simple to operate. We had showers early this a.m. and I should have wore it when letting the chickens out.

I got mine on ebay.

 

[Nym]

Thursday 13th of February 9.11a.m. early showers. Sunny gaps through increasing grey cloud cover. Moderate 27.8 / 40.8kph NE, Hg 61%, 24.2C / 75.6F top of 27C / 81F. Shower or two. Becoming windy. Marine wind warning.

Moon is 99.8% waning

Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia expected to reach category 5 strength before crossing WA coast​

2 hours 6 mins ago​

By Jessica Shackleton, Rosemary Murphy, and Mya Kordic​

Port Hedland residents prepare sandbags ahead of Zelia's arrival. (ABC Pilbara: Alistair Bates)

Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia is forecast to reach category five strength later today as it continues to track slowly towards Western Australia's Pilbara coast.

The system has begun to intensify more rapidly, reaching category four strength early this morning.

A cyclone watch and act alert is currently in place between Eighty Mile Beach and Whim Creek, including the town of Port Hedland.

The warning also extends inland to Marble Bar.

Schools in Port Hedland, South Hedland, Yandeyarra, and Marble Bar have been closed.

Great Northern Highway, Ripon Hills Road, and Marble Bar Road will be shut from 10:30am.

An evacuation centre has been set up at JD Hardie Youth and Community Hub in South Hedland.

Tropical Cyclone Zelia is currently about 135 kilometres north of Port Hedland, with sustained winds near the centre of 175kph and wind gusts up to 250kph.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Matt Hosie said it was expected to be a high category four or category five system when it crosses the coast.

"With that we can expect sustained winds of up to 200 kilometres an hour, wind gusts up to and possibly exceeding 290 kilometres per hour," he said.

"At this stage our most likely track has it going sort of 50 to 100 kilometres to the west of Port Hedland."

Mr Hosie said given the slow moment of the severe tropical cyclone the track could change.

Heavy rainfall is expected on the coast during the next couple of days.

Port Hedland has received 80mm of rain since 9am yesterday morning.

Rainfall totals of up to 500mm are expected in the Pilbara as a result of the system.

Flooding is the biggest concern for inland communities and a watch and act warning is in place for people in Marble Bar and Nullagine.

Marble Bar, Western Australia, where the temp rarely dips below 40C / 104F.

Community unease​

Hedland SES deputy manager Barry Harrison said he was aware some residents were nervous about the possibility of the system impacting the town.

"We've had a lot of rain and we've had some [serious] weather events in the past few weeks," he said.

"With the amount of rain we've had people are expectedly nervous about this."

At Port Hedland's C3 Church, Pastor Brad Holder said volunteers had come together to clean up debris and loose items around the building.

"The unpredictable nature of this one, we're just really not sure what it's doing at the moment," he said.

"Having been through [Tropical] Cyclone George in 2001, that was pretty full on.

"We're just taken the best precautions we can to keep everyone safe."

Vessels were cleared from the mining town's port late on Wednesday, the departure point for billions of dollars worth of iron ore mined across the Pilbara.

The ports of the Dampier and Varanus Island have also been cleared.

Hoping for rain without destruction​

On cattle stations along the Pilbara coast and further inland there is hope the coming rain will set them up for the year.

But they are mindful of the devastation these systems can bring.

Pardoo Station, about 150km outside of Port Hedland, bore the brunt of Tropical Cyclone Ilsa which crossed the coast at category five in 2023.

Pardoo Beef general manager Jeff McInnernery said the station was still yet to fully recover from Isla.

"It destroyed 19 centre pivots. Each one cost about $350,000 and we still have six to repair," he said.

"Then there was close to 300 kilometres of fencing damage. We've still got 80 kilometres that hasn't been fixed.

"But I'm quietly confident in the ground system this time. You prepare for the worst and hope for the best."

ABC

 

[kikiruru]

Y'all be safe out there

 

[Ponypoor]

9.30p.m. A rogue cloud just dumped a load of heavy rain while the moon shone through a hole in the sky

I love when that happens

 

[Ponypoor]

Thursday 13th of February 9.11a.m. early showers. Sunny gaps through increasing grey cloud cover. Moderate 27.8 / 40.8kph NE, Hg 61%, 24.2C / 75.6F top of 27C / 81F. Shower or two. Becoming windy. Marine wind warning.

Moon is 99.8% waning

Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia expected to reach category 5 strength before crossing WA coast​

2 hours 6 mins ago​

By Jessica Shackleton, Rosemary Murphy, and Mya Kordic​

Port Hedland residents prepare sandbags ahead of Zelia's arrival. (ABC Pilbara: Alistair Bates)

Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia is forecast to reach category five strength later today as it continues to track slowly towards Western Australia's Pilbara coast.

The system has begun to intensify more rapidly, reaching category four strength early this morning.

A cyclone watch and act alert is currently in place between Eighty Mile Beach and Whim Creek, including the town of Port Hedland.

The warning also extends inland to Marble Bar.

Schools in Port Hedland, South Hedland, Yandeyarra, and Marble Bar have been closed.

Great Northern Highway, Ripon Hills Road, and Marble Bar Road will be shut from 10:30am.

An evacuation centre has been set up at JD Hardie Youth and Community Hub in South Hedland.

Tropical Cyclone Zelia is currently about 135 kilometres north of Port Hedland, with sustained winds near the centre of 175kph and wind gusts up to 250kph.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Matt Hosie said it was expected to be a high category four or category five system when it crosses the coast.

"With that we can expect sustained winds of up to 200 kilometres an hour, wind gusts up to and possibly exceeding 290 kilometres per hour," he said.

"At this stage our most likely track has it going sort of 50 to 100 kilometres to the west of Port Hedland."

Mr Hosie said given the slow moment of the severe tropical cyclone the track could change.

Heavy rainfall is expected on the coast during the next couple of days.

Port Hedland has received 80mm of rain since 9am yesterday morning.

Rainfall totals of up to 500mm are expected in the Pilbara as a result of the system.

Flooding is the biggest concern for inland communities and a watch and act warning is in place for people in Marble Bar and Nullagine.

View attachment 4048787
Marble Bar, Western Australia, where the temp rarely dips below 40C / 104F.

Community unease​

Hedland SES deputy manager Barry Harrison said he was aware some residents were nervous about the possibility of the system impacting the town.

"We've had a lot of rain and we've had some [serious] weather events in the past few weeks," he said.

"With the amount of rain we've had people are expectedly nervous about this."

At Port Hedland's C3 Church, Pastor Brad Holder said volunteers had come together to clean up debris and loose items around the building.

"The unpredictable nature of this one, we're just really not sure what it's doing at the moment," he said.

"Having been through [Tropical] Cyclone George in 2001, that was pretty full on.

"We're just taken the best precautions we can to keep everyone safe."

Vessels were cleared from the mining town's port late on Wednesday, the departure point for billions of dollars worth of iron ore mined across the Pilbara.

The ports of the Dampier and Varanus Island have also been cleared.

Hoping for rain without destruction​

On cattle stations along the Pilbara coast and further inland there is hope the coming rain will set them up for the year.

But they are mindful of the devastation these systems can bring.

Pardoo Station, about 150km outside of Port Hedland, bore the brunt of Tropical Cyclone Ilsa which crossed the coast at category five in 2023.

Pardoo Beef general manager Jeff McInnernery said the station was still yet to fully recover from Isla.

"It destroyed 19 centre pivots. Each one cost about $350,000 and we still have six to repair," he said.

"Then there was close to 300 kilometres of fencing damage. We've still got 80 kilometres that hasn't been fixed.

"But I'm quietly confident in the ground system this time. You prepare for the worst and hope for the best."

ABC

Hope everything will be ok.

 

[Ponypoor]

We usually have up and down weather during the winter months

quite frequently we have a/c and heater on within the same 24 hour day

Some of the coldest mornings can end up being the warmest hottest days and some of the warmest wee hours of the early morning and mornings can be the high of the day with the temp dropping fast

The week we had the snow
I wore my heavy winter coat for 2 days and 6 nights only when taking bj outside to do his business and staying on my patio or when I went out walking with the walker and let the snow fall on me before the sidewalks were covered

I only wore it the last two winters in the mornings only and by the time the sun warmed up the coat was in my backpack

The last time I wore it in the daytime was in December 2022

I don’t remember the last time before the “historic January of 25” that I had to drip water that many nights in a row

Mother Nature seems to have gone off the rails lately.

Everywhere the weather seems all Topsy turvy.