Far North quenched by late summer rain
THE last month of summer has brought relief to a rain-deprived Far North, with February delivering near-normal wet season conditions.
The 480mm recorded in the past 28 days was a stark contrast to the measly 136mm that fell in the same period last year and 32mm more than the long term average.
But it was still a long way off the record of 1287mm that fell in 2000 and, strangely, wasn’t influenced by a single Coral Sea cyclone.
Weather bureau forecaster Doug Fraser said two tropical lows, including ex Gulf of Carpentaria Cyclone Alfred, had helped bring the rain to Cairns.
“It’s been a bit of a mixture. We’ve had a couple of monsoon influenced rainfall events,” he said.
“Also we’ve had, in the last week or so, onshore winds bringing shower and thunderstorm activity. There has been some seasonable rainfall, but it’s been more due to local effects than the monsoon.”
The rain and summer heat has meant some residents, such as Mount Sheridan mother of three Aya Kawabata, are now dreading their next power bill.
Mrs Kawabata and her family broke with tradition due to the birth of baby Kasumi and remained in the Far North over the holidays for the first time in six years.
“I’ve been living here for 13 years and for the last five years we went back to Japan because it was so hot here. It was actually much better this year than I expected.
“We went to Behana Creek a lot … and put the aircon on. Actually I’m really scared to get the electricity bill this time because of the baby. I needed to put the aircon on at night and during the day.”