Too Much of a Good Thing
Funny sort of country, this.
We are still officially in drought conditions, and have high level water restrictions in place. However, over the past couple of days, parts of drought-stricken Victoria have been in flood, and the storms and rain keep coming.
It's about extremes - although many of the reservoirs and dams are rising again, much of the rain is falling in areas devastated by last summer's bushfires, and the run-off is contaminated with ash, trees and rocks. Yummy.
Huge fallen trees have claimed at least one life and caused many injuries, and the Emergency Services have their work cut out restoring power lines, clearing roads, rescuing stranded people and covering damaged roofs.
Here in the city it's quieter. We have rain and wind, but it's miserable rather than dangerous. Meanwhile, we still shower with buckets to catch the water before it gurgles away so we can water the garden.
What do they say about our weather? If you don't like it, wait five minutes.
[Picture credits: left: Ray Cox/ Herald Sun, Right: James Twining/The Age]
posted by MargieCM at 7:23 am
16 Comments:
My oh my!, is it autumn there now?
we've had the wettest and coldest june on record since 1953 here in the north..the middle part of the country looks like your pictures with floods and more to come this weekend...Thankfully i've never been flooded out but there are some villages near-by, because they are in dips do suffer from flooding..it's not global warming like the media have us believe, it's just universal seasons..I mean there wasn't any global warming when the ice-caps melted!..
It's midwinter here now Gypsy, so top daytime temperatures in Melbourne of around 14-16 degrees C. Sydney's warmer, and of course as you travel North, warmer again. (The upside down version of yours of course).
No, I don't think this is down to GW/climate change either - it's always been a land of extremes here. This is pretty normal, really.
Is your weather going mad though, or is it just another example of the famous English Summertime? You know, the old Michael Flanders thing "I missed Summer last year - I was in the bathroom".
Shouldn't joke - I had a great Summer in England once. Gorgeous. And you didn't rain on me once when I was there in midwinter two Januaries ago. Thanks for that.
I find weather patterns very strange these days. I'm not sure whether Aussie Land is affected by El Nino traits (based on ocean currents and temperatures), but here in Canada we had the most bizarre conditions last winter. Severe snow storms in places where it rarely snows and warm thaws in places usually reserved for deep freeze. This June we've had higher than normal temperatures (high 30s) and barely any rain.
I'm fascinated with Australia and can't wait to have my first visit in a couple of years when I go to Perth to see my brother and his family.
Ahem...margie...i'se just a dog so's I con't have nuffink ter say abart the wevver an that..I'sll leave that to me mumz wot comes here a lot an calls herself vallyp tho she's just mimz ter me. anyways, youz nivver bin ter me blog an i'se reeeeeeally sad abart that cos mumz always larfs wen she reads yor stuff an me, sindybin wot lives wiv vallyp, want ter ave summat ter larf abart too, so'd can yoo cum visit me pleeeeze?
luv an lix sindybin
xx
Is'll tell mumz ter cum an say summat wise abart the wevver in ostraylia..dunno how ter spell that but yoo gets the pic? xx
Hi Lannio! I know some of the strange unseasonal weather conditions we had a couple of years ago were attributed to El Nino. Apparently we're now about to taste the effects of Il nonno, or el nini, or whatever the latest phenomenon is called. More hurricanes up North I suppose. The fact is though, El Nino or not, we get all sorts of mad weather here, and of course it's a big continent so there's masses of variation, from tropical to desert to just incredibly wet.
Speaking of Perth, they get the odd blow over in that direction too from time to time of course, but usually further up the coast. You will LOVE Western Australia, and make sure you visit Fremantle. It's not far from Perth and the cafe culture is wonderful. Your brother will tell you anyway. He'll also tell you not to come in the height of Summer. Hot doesn't quite cover it!
Now Sindy - how lovely to see such aristocracy amongst us! You are a beauty. I have now rectified my apalling faux pas in not previously visiting you and dashed off to post a comment on your very impressive blog. I will certainly be bark! Sorry, I meant back.
As you are obviously a keen student of English, I will give you a lesson in correct Australian pronunciation. "Australia", which the Queen (Lizzie, not Beatrix) would pronounce it "Orstraeliah". In a broad Aussie accent, (which, for one reason and another, I don't have), it is simply "'Straya". There may be a slight hint of a "Sh" sound at the beginning, but this is optional.
So now you know.
Actually,, it it's a REALLY broad Aussie accent, the correct pronunciation is more like "'Shtrya", especially after a few amber ales.
Margie, you certainly do live in a land of extremes.
I understand most of Australia is like that.
Here in Canada, we have extremes, too, but not the country as a whole.
Where I live in the mountains, we have odd weather and the saying "wait 5 minutes" falls true.
It's midsummer here and we took a drive to the ski hill last evening.
The weather was pleasant and we did a wander about the village then had some pub food - yum!
There are still patches of snow up on the higher runs...
Having so much snowfall last winter has increased the snowpack. It's melting now, and the creeks and rivers are brown and swollen, threatening to breach their banks.
Thank goodness it's not been too hot.
I guess with drought conditions, the soil becomes hard and any water simply runs off without being absorbed...ideal for floods.
As far as global warming, we are only watching a small, tiny, less-than-a-pin-prick-in-time portion of the over all picture.
The true pattern could only reveal itself if we lived eons instead of less than a century...
We usually have a wet June here - I love it!
Oh of course Margie, you have christmas in the summer!..I have a few relatives that live in australia.Dandanong..er I think??..
Europe is split at the mo, with extremely hot weather on one side and wet on the other..its sweeping in from the Atlantic..
alot of the flooding is down to bad land management..new housing from the 60's onwards means less porous surfaces to sponge up the rain..What joy!
shall we send in the derelicte marines?
The weather is off all around the world, I think.
I do love Australia and all its weather.
Too much extreme conditions is traumatic. Hope you are not drenched.
xx
Agh, I see Sindy has been here before me, not to mention all the other wise women..haha.
Margie, you are really having freak weather conditions at the moment aren't you? I agree with Dale and Gypsy that for one, this is just a one off as years go and also that the flooding in Europe is mostly due to poor management...for one thing, the disastrous policy of clearing farmland of trees which used to do the job of 'soaking' up excess water.
Nevertheless, the extremes can be alarming. I recall that just a couple of months ago, you were praying for rain....hmmm, maybe you did that rain dance just a bit too well, Margie...waggled those lovely hips a tad too provocatively, huh?
I hope things balance out for you soon. You need the water, but you also need it to soak in and stay, not rush off somewhere down a drain where it's useless. I well remember deluges like that from my Africa days.
Anyway, thanks for the pronunciation lesson you gave Sindy...ahem..I have to say she is remarkably talented for a dog, don't you think? But spelling and grammar are not her strong suit and she's not terribly refined either, being a dog of very little brain and unknown origin. Don't tell her I said so, though, or not doubt whe would say it's 's'not fair'. Her answer to verything.
Anyway I did laugh so much at your 'Shtrya'. Is that really how they say it? I now have this image of Margie tottering on her high heels after a few glasses of red, saying "we here in Shtrya....burp"...!
Hurricane Floyd is the only time I've experienced anything like that.
was it pink, Third?
Stop me before I get too corny...
Oh, you guys!
Well, had the weekend away at the coast and yes, it was WET, but the rainstorms were interspersed with periods of glorious winter sunshine. Never seen so many rainbows in two days!
I think Gypsy and Val you're right - it's more about land management and misuse than anything else. We're slow learners. Dale, you're right about the runoff over hard ground too. That's exactly what happens. And hey, more Gypsies in Dandenong! Can't be bad.
Grace thanks, I'm a little soggy, but fine. The real problems this time round have been in Gippsland - same state, but regional. Very nasty. Closer to home though, when we got back from a walk on the beach which turned into a frozen drenching, Em rang me from Central Australia saying it was really hot there and she'd just been swimming under a waterfall. I felt like I had too. At least I didn't have to dodge the crocodiles.
Third of Never - thank goodness this is not at hurricane level. That is a step up on the scary ladder.
Val, I'm sure what Sindy lacks in refinement she makes up in other ways. And speaking of refinement, I wish to point out that my own accent is educated, clipped and genteel and I do NOT burp.
I lie a bit though.
PS: Dale: too corny? Too late!
Your midwinter top temperatures are about the same as our typical May ones.
The floods threatening people in the countryside make me think how limited human beings' means of controlling the forces of nature are - although the human species would like to think they're in control.
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