Maleny Weather

The BBC is considering dumping Britain’s Met Office as the public broadcaster’s main weather forecaster and hiring one from New Zealand instead.The state-owned Met Office has come under fire in the past year for its inaccurate long-term forecasts for Britain.It infamously predicted a “barbecue summer” for Britain in 2009 which turned out to be a washout, before incorrectly forecasting a “mild” winter that instead saw the nation blanketed in snow.The BBC has relied on the Met Office for almost 90 years to provide it with forecasts but is now considering switching to New Zealand’s national forecaster, Metra.

A panel of governmental, academic and non-profit scientists speaking at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) unveiled research suggesting that diseases found in dolphins are similar to human diseases and can provide clues into how human health might be affected by exposure to contaminated coastal water or seafood.

“Dolphins and humans are both mammals, and their diet includes much of the same seafood that we consume. Unlike us, however, they are exposed to potential ocean health threats such as toxic algae or poor water quality 24 hours a day,” said Carolyn Sotka of the NOAA and lead organizer of the session. “Our ecological and physiological similarities make dolphins an important ‘sentinel species’ to not only warn us of health risks, but also provide insight into how our health can benefit from new medical discoveries.” 

Torrential rain on 21/22 February 1992 measuring 660mm (26 inches) caused flooding to the Mary River, sweeping away the 60 year old timber bridge at Kenilworth. A new bridge was built 8.6 metres higher and opened the following year.

In February 1999 the month’s total rainfall figure was 2¾ times the average, with much of it falling within a short space of time. The torrential downpour swept through the Range overflowed creeks and lapped the Maleny Library boardwalk and contributed in no small way to the flooding of Gympie and Maryborough. Ex-TC “Rona” and ex-TC “, as rain depressions were mainly responsible for Maleny’s weather pattern

Monday was hot and muggy with a northerly moist air stream raising afternoon temperature to over 31°C, and overnight temperatures to four degrees above the norm.

A southeast change came through on Tuesday with a thunderstorm at 2.00pm clearing the stifling air with torrential rain. In fact, we had 42 mm in 45 minutes. The greatest rate of fall was 130mm per hour, enough to trigger off the MWS flash flood warning alarm system.  24 hour rain to 9.00am Wednesday was 139.2mm, bringing the total rainfall to date this month to 481.2, representing 151mm over and above the 117 year average for Maleny. Creeks are again in full spate and local dams are filled to capacity.

The southerly airflow continued over the next few days bringing stream showers on to the Blackall Ranges and a return to normal temperatures

Here are some examples of where industries are getting results through the direct application of weather forecasts:

Retailers are using weather to plan more effective merchandising campaigns and stock control

Construction companies are using weather to schedule labour and weather sensitive activities

Transport companies of all types are using weather to schedule drivers and assess time delays

Energy companies are using weather to determine energy demand

Manufacturing companies are using weather to forecast production – where weather has a direct effect on the manufacturing process

Tourism operators are using weather so they can plan tourist activities

Film companies use weather to plan film shoots

Farmers and growers use weather to plan daily activities

These are just a few examples of how weather knowledge can reduce the impact of weather, enabling better use of resource and increasing company profits as a result.

 After weeks of muggy weather with high humidity and temperatures four degrees above normal the thunderstorm at 2.00pm on Tuesday brought some welcome relief by clearing the stifling air with  torrential rain. In fact, we had 42 mm in 45 minutes. The greatest rate of fall was 130mm per hour, enough to trigger off the MWS flash flood warning alarm system.  24 hour rain to 9.00am Wednesday was 139.2mm, bringing the total rainfall to date this month to 481.2, representing 151mm over and above the 117 year average for Maleny. Creeks are again in full spate and dams are filled to capacity.

According to a recent review and evaluation conducted by a panel of experts in charge of global weather and climate extremes within the WMO Commission for Climatology (CCl), the new record wind gust, not related to tornados, registered to date is 408 kilometres per hour. This record occurred during Tropical Cyclone Olivia on 10 April 1996 on Barrow Island, Australia. The previous record was of 372 kilometres per hour, registered in April 1934 across the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire (USA).

Electricity came to Maleny town centre in February 1940. Maleny electrician, (Jack) Callaway wired most people’s homes; he had an electrical shop in Maple Street, now the Up Front Club