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Thursday 27 April 2000

Torrential rain, gales batter Cape Tribulation, Qld
While the Queensland North Tropical Coast from around Ingham to Cooktown has received flooding rain over the past 5 days, the residents of Cape Tribulation had the worst of it overnight and into today. A small low pressure system off the coast near Cooktown combined with the orographic effect of the high Daintree mountains rising straight from the sea to enhance the local rainfall and wind. 552.6mm fell in the 48 hours ended 9 this morning, with the most intense rain occurring overnight, accompanied by gale to storm force winds that uprooted trees and caused some building damage. Low Isles lighthouse, about 35km south of the Cape, reported average winds around 70km/h through the night. Rainfall in the area and around Cairns eased off this morning, allowing rivers to begin falling. The Tully River peaked during the afternoon.

Today's highest rainfall totals for the 24 hours to 9am

341.8 Cape Tribulation Store Qld
182.0 Topaz Malanda Qld
163.5 Daintree Village Qld
161.0 Low Isles Qld

Other heavy north Qld falls:
160.0 Hazelmere Cooktown
158.5 Babinda PO
152.0 Mt Sophia Gordonvale
130.2 Cooktown Mission Strip
115.0 Tully

Today's highest & lowest temps

Other extremes

Rainfall:
Carnarvon AP WA: 38.8mm in 3h to 4.30am
Cooktown Qld: 97mm in 9h to 6am

Wind:
Green Island Qld: 10-min average wind of 80km/h at 3am with highest gust 93km/h at 2.47am
Low Isles LH Qld: 10-min average wind of 76km/h at 3am with several gusts to 89km/h between 3 and 4am, and 2 to 5pm

Flood peaks:
Tully at Euramo Qld: 7.95m this afternoon with minor flooding

Records set this day

.
Maximum Minimum
34.5 Mardie WA 26.3 Troughton Is WA
11.0 Crackenback NSW -4.5 Charlotte Pass NSW

Greatest variations from normal

Maximum Minimum
+6.7
28.8 Elliston SA		 +8.1
18.0 Salmon Gums Res Stn WA
-8.9
24.6 Brunette Downs NT
-8.9
23.2 Urandangie Qld		 -7.9
-1.6 Grove Res Stn Tas

  • Times stated are the clock time in force in the relevant state or territory

  • Stories, including those in the archives, are as new and corrected information becomes available, with updates underlined

  • Australian Weather News gratefully acknowledges the Bureau of Meteorology as the collector and main source of meteorological data in Australia, along with the thousands of observers who record the weather and rainfall daily. I also thank Don White and the many contributors to the Aussie Weather mailing list who routinely provide much appreciated information.