Maleny Weather

A computer glitch has resulted in a loss of email addresses. Will all weatherwatchers who have sent emails to malenyweather@ozemail.com.au in the past few weeks and received no acknowledgement todate please re-transmit their messages.

The big storm that drenched the Sunshine Coast 0n 18 – 21 May caused extensive flooding to low-lying areas for the second time this year. To the surprise of residents on the Blackall Ranges the expected severe weather forecasted by-passed them. This area was a corridor between two separate synoptic systems.  There was an upper level trough to the north and a deep surface trough in the Brisbane and Gold Coast districts. The deluge was confined to these two areas. Here at Maleny we recorded a modest 209 mm over four days, with the heaviest fall at 2.45 pm on Tuesday 19^th, with Rainfall Fall Rate measuring 188.8 mm /hour. The total month’s rainfall to-date is 241.2  mm, representing 99 mm over 117 years May average.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that the south-west monsoon, vital for ensuring a healthy agricultural output and GDP growth, is expected to hit the Kerala coast on 26 May, some five days ahead of the normal date.

Temperatures in Lahore, Pakistan, reached 41°C yesterday. Many cities in Pakistan are facing heatwave conditions with temperatures forecast to reach 50°C in some places, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department.

Successful and sustainable farming communities throughout the world have survived and developed by mastering the ability to adapt farming systems to widely varying weather and climatic conditions. These skills and practices must be effectively integrated and applied to make agricultural production more reliable, more efficient and above all more equitable in the world at large. That is the theme of an international workshop held in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, from 18 to 20 May 2009 to improve the long-term sustainability of farming and agriculture through improving practical weather and climate information output for farmers world-wide.