Showers looking good bet
THE Far North may miss out on heavy showers from ex-cyclone Owen, but looming rain clouds across the coast could still make our gardens green.
Cairns Regional Council is holding out hope the rain will be enough to tip the scales away from looming level two water restrictions.
The council’s figures show the Copperlode Dam at 70 per cent capacity or 25,970 megalitres.
A council spokeswoman said they were waiting to see if the catchment received any significant rain in the next few days before moving to implement level two restrictions.
Meanwhile, ex-cyclone Owen was sitting in the Coral Sea 650km off Cairns.
Early predictions suggested it could drift closer to the Cassowary Coast, bringing heavy rainfall to the Far North.
However, Bureau of meteorology forecaster Kimba Wong said it seemed more likely the low would drift further south.
“There’s a fair bit of uncertainty as to its movement, but at the moment it’s looking unlikely to drift north enough to really influence heavy rainfall in the Far North,” she said.
While the region may miss out on the deluge promised by Owen, Ms Wong said there was still a high chance of showers for the weekend.