Maleny Weather

Once again we missed out on the rain-band passing through the region at the beginning of the week and we only caught the tail-end of it with a shower of 2 mm measured in the rain gauges. The main feature for the remainder of the week was the gradual rise in day time temperatures from the hot northerly winds, reaching a peak on Saturday with 35ºC. Sunday’s peak was nearly as high with 33ºC. On both days a heat stress warning was issued, advising those at risk of possible Heat Exhaustion or Heatstroke.

*Warning issued – danger of heat exhaustion or heatstroke possible

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More than 100 icebergs moved towards the New Zealand coastline from the Southern Ocean and threatened shipping interests in the region. Some of the floating ice measured more than 200m across. The same bergs passed by Australia’s Macquarie Island, 1,500km southeast of Tasmania, on the 16th – it is very uncommon for icebergs to make it this far north. In 2006, icebergs floated to within 25 km of the New Zealand coast, and this was the first such sighting since 1931. These bergs are traveling a similar route to the ones in 2006, but scientists are not sure if they will remain intact all the way to the Auckland Islands.

Residents in the flood-hit northwest England began returning to their homes but police warned it could take years to recover from the devastation left by the heaviest rainfall on record. Eighteen schools were closed as local authorities struggled to restore basic services across the county of Cumbria, where many areas were cut off at the weekend after swollen rivers brought down bridges and turned roads into canals. All Cumbria’s 1,800 bridges had to be checked after several collapsed.

A new UK 24-hour rainfall record was attained at Seathwaith, Cumbria with 314 mm. The previous record was held by Martinstown, Dorset with 279 mm on 18^th July 1955

 At least 48 people have died in the heaviest flooding to hit Saudi Arabia in years. The continued torrential rain has coincided with the start of the annual Hajj – the pilgrimage of nearly 2 million Muslims to Mecca and Medina, Islam’s holiest cities. But the worst floods were in the port city of Jeddah, where 76mm of rain has fallen. The annual average rainfall in Jeddah is only about 55mm, with 12mm being the November average. Most of those who died were drowned, or they were killed by collapsing bridges or in car crashes. Authorities say at least 900 people had to be rescued after being stranded in the floodwaters. The floods also forced the closure of a highway to Mecca, stranding many pilgrims who were unable to reach the holy city.