Weather in Queensland
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Weather in Queensland
Sorry about posting in here but though it would have the best chance of being answered, im coming to queensland around the 17thFeb from sydney-cairns in road snail with the missis, weather reports for Queensland are P1$$ poor(the level of content not the actual weather) from all sources i know in the uk (BBC,SKY etc), so was wondering if any locals can share the knowledge, should i scrap all plans now and lose some big $$$ or just see what its like as i go up? Also if anyone wants to take me flying over around the whitsundays id be most grateful, weather and missis permitting obviously! thanks 
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Asking us what the weather will do in a weeks time is like asking for next week's lotto numbers.
Yes it has been wet, and a number of roads (including the Bruce Highway in a number of places) have been closed at times. Generally the water does get away fairly quickly - around here the roads are usually only closed for hours rather than days. The RACQ site Road Conditions | Travel | RACQ is a good source of information on road closures.
We've had a lot of days recently where we haven't been flying - some times for water conditions (high winds) and sometimes for preciption. We made it out to the reef both yesterday and today - however I had to hold for ten minutes about 45nm offshore for a good shower to clear so we could land in our coral lagoon.
At this time of the year it can be wet - during the last week we've had about 400mm (16 inches) of rain. On the positive side there are plenty of good deals for both accommodation and tours.
For information on cyclones I trust the US navy site https://metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc.php more than the BoM site as they tend to be more accurate. Some of the 'news' reports stretch any forcast of a low into a probable cyclone.
Yes it has been wet, and a number of roads (including the Bruce Highway in a number of places) have been closed at times. Generally the water does get away fairly quickly - around here the roads are usually only closed for hours rather than days. The RACQ site Road Conditions | Travel | RACQ is a good source of information on road closures.
We've had a lot of days recently where we haven't been flying - some times for water conditions (high winds) and sometimes for preciption. We made it out to the reef both yesterday and today - however I had to hold for ten minutes about 45nm offshore for a good shower to clear so we could land in our coral lagoon.
At this time of the year it can be wet - during the last week we've had about 400mm (16 inches) of rain. On the positive side there are plenty of good deals for both accommodation and tours.
For information on cyclones I trust the US navy site https://metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc.php more than the BoM site as they tend to be more accurate. Some of the 'news' reports stretch any forcast of a low into a probable cyclone.
Bottums Up
hightower1986
Try Queensland Weather and Warnings Information - Bureau of Meteorology, this is a link to the Bureau of Meteorology's (BoM) QLD web page. From there you can access the rest of the BoM stuff.
Feb is Cairns' wettest month, usually, though this year Jan's been bloody wet too.
If you're roading it up, have a look at Road Conditions | Benefits & Discounts | RACQ, this link is to the RACQ's (Royal Auto Club of Queensland) road conditions site. It links to all states.
Assuming you're not au fait with Australian conditions, check the road conditions regularly, DON'T cross swollen creeks, rivers, or fords, unless you satisfy your self that the water is neither too deep, or moving too swiftly. Several people have dies this year alone (36 days old, the year is) being swept off roads by water. Once in Queensland, north of about Maryborough or Bundaberg, don't be too tempted to wade through water courses to check their depth, Estuarine crocs kill. The chances of finding them as far south as Bundy is really remote but they become more prevalent the further north you travel.
If you were travelling this way, today, you wouldn't make it by car. The Bruce Hwy is closed at Ingham, and the Kennedy Highway is closed at Innot Hot Springs.
If you've got time to spare, it'd be a great trip, and one can meet wonderful people when stranded at a river crossing waiting to cross. (ps don't believe stories I've heard back packers use in the past, that they believe there's some one ferrying cars across a river. It's rarely true).
Try Queensland Weather and Warnings Information - Bureau of Meteorology, this is a link to the Bureau of Meteorology's (BoM) QLD web page. From there you can access the rest of the BoM stuff.
Feb is Cairns' wettest month, usually, though this year Jan's been bloody wet too.
If you're roading it up, have a look at Road Conditions | Benefits & Discounts | RACQ, this link is to the RACQ's (Royal Auto Club of Queensland) road conditions site. It links to all states.
Assuming you're not au fait with Australian conditions, check the road conditions regularly, DON'T cross swollen creeks, rivers, or fords, unless you satisfy your self that the water is neither too deep, or moving too swiftly. Several people have dies this year alone (36 days old, the year is) being swept off roads by water. Once in Queensland, north of about Maryborough or Bundaberg, don't be too tempted to wade through water courses to check their depth, Estuarine crocs kill. The chances of finding them as far south as Bundy is really remote but they become more prevalent the further north you travel.
If you were travelling this way, today, you wouldn't make it by car. The Bruce Hwy is closed at Ingham, and the Kennedy Highway is closed at Innot Hot Springs.
If you've got time to spare, it'd be a great trip, and one can meet wonderful people when stranded at a river crossing waiting to cross. (ps don't believe stories I've heard back packers use in the past, that they believe there's some one ferrying cars across a river. It's rarely true).
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thanks for the replies, websites extremely useful! wasnt expecting you to know the exact weather but was really just after the local news reports as to how long the flood would last etc, but i think i saw 4-5 days for them to die down once the rain has settled a little more ( i do know its the wet season up north) so im not a completely usless brit tourist! not far off though! Will just have to keep an eye on those webpages when i arrive! any advice about swimming in the sea? stick to lifegaurd areas etc? Think im too scared to go in the sea after reading about box jellies!?
although theres only ever been 2 deaths? and more people were killed by there toaster than by sharks last year! strange world we live in ( i blame the USA) cheers chaps
wasnt expecting you to know the exact weather but was really just after the local news reports as to how long the flood would last etc, but i think i saw 4-5 days for them to die down once the rain has settled a little more ( i do know its the wet season up north) so im not a completely usless brit tourist! not far off though! Will just have to keep an eye on those webpages when i arrive! any advice about swimming in the sea? stick to lifegaurd areas etc? Think im too scared to go in the sea after reading about box jellies!? although theres only ever been 2 deaths? and more people were killed by there toaster than by sharks last year! strange world we live in ( i blame the USA) cheers chaps
Unfortunately box jellyfish are not the only coelenterates in the sea up that way, just the most deadly.
Good plan to only swim in stinger proof enclosures at this time of year as the stingers are active from October to May.
If you elect to swim in the open, then it's a case of "you pays your money, you takes your chances"
Good plan to only swim in stinger proof enclosures at this time of year as the stingers are active from October to May.
If you elect to swim in the open, then it's a case of "you pays your money, you takes your chances"
Last edited by ravan; 5th Feb 2009 at 20:09. Reason: Spelling!
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are most people quite happy swimming in the nets with just shorts on or do people put stinger suits on also in netted areas, i dont expect the nets to be fail safe, just dont want to look like a total t!t
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Your personal weather report...........
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Any good news greatly appreciated!!! B100dy weather! going to be a memorable 1st trip to OZ thats for sure, anyone any ideas where i can get some floats for the camper?
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well we are meant to be staying on brampton island and doing some diving in cairns, might have to leave the camper in mackay and fly up north instead! its just typical! i thought the Uk was suppose to have all the bad weather! Where abouts are stingers a problem from? Hervey bay area or further south?
typical! i thought the Uk was suppose to have all the bad weather! Where abouts are stingers a problem from? Hervey bay area or further south?
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Diving- shouldn't be a problem- anywhere at the moment!!!!!!!....:
If you get a bit queasy- bring some Zantac
And if the Low/Depression they are watching fires up again replace:
with Ark.........
Back in box now- hat, coat- door............
If you get a bit queasy- bring some Zantac
And if the Low/Depression they are watching fires up again replace:
road snail
Back in box now- hat, coat- door............
Hightower, as a 25 yr resident of NQ and oft-times driver of the road south, here's my two bobs worth.
February is generally the wettest month, but this year January has been giving it some competition. The end result is that the place is saturated and the roads are a bit of a mess. None-the-less, I think it is probably worth giving your trip a go provided you use some common sense and remain flexible.
All the advice given above is good. The road does not usually stay closed for more than a couple of days - but this has been an unusual year so far.
Be prepared to sit in a town along the coast for anything from a day to a week if the weather does the dirty on you. Do not leave a major town unless you are sure the road is open to the next major town.
DO NOT DRIVE INTO FLOOD WATER!
If it all turns to poo somewhere along the coast, consider jumping on an aeroplane to Cairns and back. The "milk run" stops at Gladstone, Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville.
Dr
PS: Nothing would get me to swim in the ocean in NQ, regardless of stinger nets, suits etc! Here's a few words of wisdom - crocs, sharks, stingrays, jellyfish!
February is generally the wettest month, but this year January has been giving it some competition. The end result is that the place is saturated and the roads are a bit of a mess. None-the-less, I think it is probably worth giving your trip a go provided you use some common sense and remain flexible.
All the advice given above is good. The road does not usually stay closed for more than a couple of days - but this has been an unusual year so far.
Be prepared to sit in a town along the coast for anything from a day to a week if the weather does the dirty on you. Do not leave a major town unless you are sure the road is open to the next major town.
DO NOT DRIVE INTO FLOOD WATER!
If it all turns to poo somewhere along the coast, consider jumping on an aeroplane to Cairns and back. The "milk run" stops at Gladstone, Rockhampton, Mackay and Townsville.
Dr
PS: Nothing would get me to swim in the ocean in NQ, regardless of stinger nets, suits etc! Here's a few words of wisdom - crocs, sharks, stingrays, jellyfish!
Last edited by ForkTailedDrKiller; 6th Feb 2009 at 00:48.
Bottums Up
I'm with FTDK re swimming. I have an excellent relationship with
I stay out of their water, and they stay off my land.
Mind you, living some 1500' AMSL makes the Barron River quite swimmable, as the crocs have yet to learn how to scale water falls, a la salmon.
crocs, sharks, stingrays, jellyfish!
Mind you, living some 1500' AMSL makes the Barron River quite swimmable, as the crocs have yet to learn how to scale water falls, a la salmon.
Hightower,
Best Advice....
COME TO WESTERN AUSTRALIA INSTEAD - The weather is 'bewdiful one day - perfekt the next'!!
Plenty to do and see - Perth, the 'South West', the 'North West', the Pilbara, Ningaloo Reef -great diving - and you can actually SEE under the water from just offshore..... etc etc friendly people, COLD beer, and great sunsets over the Indian Ocean....
Hey 'Tailwheel' THAT is great service!!
Cheers
Best Advice....
COME TO WESTERN AUSTRALIA INSTEAD - The weather is 'bewdiful one day - perfekt the next'!!
Plenty to do and see - Perth, the 'South West', the 'North West', the Pilbara, Ningaloo Reef -great diving - and you can actually SEE under the water from just offshore..... etc etc friendly people, COLD beer, and great sunsets over the Indian Ocean....
Hey 'Tailwheel' THAT is great service!!
Cheers
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Yup Great weather in WA
"TROPICAL CYCLONE INFORMATION BULLETIN
Issued at 9:47 am WDT on Friday 6 February 2009
BY THE BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY
TROPICAL CYCLONE WARNING CENTRE PERTH
A Tropical Low was located at 9 am WDT near 16.4S 114.9E, that is 620 km north
of Exmouth and 525 km north northwest of Karratha and moving west at 14
kilometres per hour."
"TROPICAL CYCLONE INFORMATION BULLETIN
Issued at 9:47 am WDT on Friday 6 February 2009
BY THE BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY
TROPICAL CYCLONE WARNING CENTRE PERTH
A Tropical Low was located at 9 am WDT near 16.4S 114.9E, that is 620 km north
of Exmouth and 525 km north northwest of Karratha and moving west at 14
kilometres per hour."
YUP.....Mr 'D'......
That's 600km NORTH of EXMOUTH and heading WEST......
Thus leaving the REST of WA in peace, solitude and sunshine....including the heat wave forecast for next week - Tuesday onwards - but ALL of that will be
'G O R N E' and sanity will prevail by the time our guests would arrive....
Cheers
That's 600km NORTH of EXMOUTH and heading WEST......
Thus leaving the REST of WA in peace, solitude and sunshine....including the heat wave forecast for next week - Tuesday onwards - but ALL of that will be
'G O R N E' and sanity will prevail by the time our guests would arrive....
Cheers
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If I couldn't swim in the ocean I wouldn't live in NQ.
Hundreds of people have been killed on the Bruce Highway, and thousands more are seriously injured. I still drive on it - and so will you if you drive north along the coast.
Box jellyfish are very nasty - their poison is deadly and it kills in a very short time. Fortunately box jellyfish are not found offshore - for that reason I avoid swimming from the mainland. Stinger enclosures will generally stop box jellyfish. I don't know what the fatality rate for box is, but it is significant.
Only a handful of the thousands of species of jellyfish that inhabit the coastal waters cause irukandji syndrome. Only a total of three deaths worldwide ever have have been attributed to irukandji syndrome. It is incredibly painful, and causes very high blood pressure. Irukandji jellyfish will pass through stinger nets. Where lifeguards are on duty they do a screening test for salps - if they are present they close the beach as irukandji jellyfish are likely.
Stinger suits will stop about 90% of jellyfish stings. If you brush tentacles against exposed skin (ie around your face, hands or feet) you will get stung. The barbs on the tentacles can be pushed through the Lycra as well.
We take thousands of people out to Hardy Reef each year, and Fantasea takes out hundreds of thousands as well. It is my understanding that there has only been one suspected Irukandji sting at Hardy Reef during the day - and up to a few years ago no one wore stinger suits offshore. It's quite funny how paranoid some people are about wearing suits at the reef, yet will swim happily at Whitehaven without them even though there are usually a number of stings at the beach each year.
With crocodiles pick where you swim - don't swim around mangroves, in estuaries, creeks or where there are signs warning of crocodiles. Proserpine River has a very high density of crocodiles, yet there are hundreds of beaches to the north where crocs are never seen.
The sharks up here are very well fed - we see reefies in our lagoon every now and again. They still give the heart rate a jump when I see one when I'm in the water. I don't get in the water if I'm bleeding or if someone is fishing though - no point tempting fate.
The critter I would be most concerned about in Queensland at the moment is the mosquito. This year is an absolute shocker for the mosquito borne Dengue Fever with over 400 people having been affected by an epidemic in Cairns and Townsville. Use plenty of mosquito repellent, cover up and try to go inside if mosquitoes are present. Be very careful around dusk when mozzies are most active. Dengue is deliberating and can be fatal.
I swim offshore over half a dozen times every week and very rarely wear a stinger suit. At least when I'm in the water the mozzies can't get me.
PS The local economy has been affected far more by the reduction in tourism over the last few weeks due to the weather than the economic downturn. Last year hundreds of people canceled due to the weather - despite the fact that weather when they planned to book was beautiful.
Hundreds of people have been killed on the Bruce Highway, and thousands more are seriously injured. I still drive on it - and so will you if you drive north along the coast.
Box jellyfish are very nasty - their poison is deadly and it kills in a very short time. Fortunately box jellyfish are not found offshore - for that reason I avoid swimming from the mainland. Stinger enclosures will generally stop box jellyfish. I don't know what the fatality rate for box is, but it is significant.
Only a handful of the thousands of species of jellyfish that inhabit the coastal waters cause irukandji syndrome. Only a total of three deaths worldwide ever have have been attributed to irukandji syndrome. It is incredibly painful, and causes very high blood pressure. Irukandji jellyfish will pass through stinger nets. Where lifeguards are on duty they do a screening test for salps - if they are present they close the beach as irukandji jellyfish are likely.
Stinger suits will stop about 90% of jellyfish stings. If you brush tentacles against exposed skin (ie around your face, hands or feet) you will get stung. The barbs on the tentacles can be pushed through the Lycra as well.
We take thousands of people out to Hardy Reef each year, and Fantasea takes out hundreds of thousands as well. It is my understanding that there has only been one suspected Irukandji sting at Hardy Reef during the day - and up to a few years ago no one wore stinger suits offshore. It's quite funny how paranoid some people are about wearing suits at the reef, yet will swim happily at Whitehaven without them even though there are usually a number of stings at the beach each year.
With crocodiles pick where you swim - don't swim around mangroves, in estuaries, creeks or where there are signs warning of crocodiles. Proserpine River has a very high density of crocodiles, yet there are hundreds of beaches to the north where crocs are never seen.
The sharks up here are very well fed - we see reefies in our lagoon every now and again. They still give the heart rate a jump when I see one when I'm in the water. I don't get in the water if I'm bleeding or if someone is fishing though - no point tempting fate.
The critter I would be most concerned about in Queensland at the moment is the mosquito. This year is an absolute shocker for the mosquito borne Dengue Fever with over 400 people having been affected by an epidemic in Cairns and Townsville. Use plenty of mosquito repellent, cover up and try to go inside if mosquitoes are present. Be very careful around dusk when mozzies are most active. Dengue is deliberating and can be fatal.
I swim offshore over half a dozen times every week and very rarely wear a stinger suit. At least when I'm in the water the mozzies can't get me.
PS The local economy has been affected far more by the reduction in tourism over the last few weeks due to the weather than the economic downturn. Last year hundreds of people canceled due to the weather - despite the fact that weather when they planned to book was beautiful.
