Heat, wind and fury unleashed on region
Storms smash communities as Far North braces for sizzling days
WILD storms smashed communities in the Innisfail area last night to kick off a weekend of fierce weather for the Far North.
More than 7000 homes lost power from Babinda south to South Johnstone, after the 30minute thunderstorm rolled through about 6.30pm.
Innisfail resident Duane Amos, who has lived in the town since the mid-90s, had windows blown out of his Edith St home and trees down.
“We got absolutely belted for about a 30-minute period,” he said.
“I was here with Cyclone Larry in 2006, and it was the exact same intensity, for that whole time.”
The Far North will endure extreme conditions this weekend with forecasters expecting a top of 38C today and strong winds to sweep in.
Forecaster Rosa Hoff said a slight reduction in cloud cover was the cause of the expected increase in temperatures.
“The weather set up at the moment is that there is a trough lying slightly to the south of Cairns which has moved off a little bit,” Ms Hoff said.
“Our average maximum temperature for Cairns in January is 31C, so Saturday is going to be a little bit warmer than average.”
Roy Sargeant had his yoga mat set up at Munro Martin Parklands yesterday until about 10am, by which time a thick slick of sweat had made it too slippery to risk any move trickier than Downward Facing Dog.
The Canberra native is on an extended Far North holiday in large part because he disliked the cold in his native city.
“If you can do yoga on a day like today, you can do it any time,” he said.
The forecast predicts katabatic winds to be a risk at the base of the ranges.
“They are expected to accelerate during the day due to the ambient wind flow in the wind area,” Ms Hoff said.
“It could lead to wind speeds that are damaging.”
Storms on Thursday night brought a deluge to parts of the Cassowary Coast.
Bartle View near Innisfail recorded the heaviest rain across the region with 46mm over a 24-hour period from 9am Wednesday morning.
Mareeba recorded 39mm and Tinaroo Dam 37mm. Gordonvale received 25mm and the Cairns Airport 14mm.
Tablelands farmer Ricco Cabbasi is hoping more rain comes over the next few days.
“Nothing beats rain,” Mr Cabassi said. “It was nice but we just need some follow-up rain that’ll really kickstart the season.”
Mr Cabbasi hopes thunderstorms won’t be too serious.
“We don’t mind thunderstorms but we don’t want violent thunderstorms – no farmer wants that,” he said.