Triumphrat

Old Scratcher · 01-24-2010, 03:34 PM

There's a cat 1 cyclone called Olga battering at my door. She's a perky little lass, for a cat 1, too. With lots of spectacular thunder & lightning, lighting up the night sky, & torrential driving rain, turning my paddocks into lakes. I've got all my vehicles safely undercover. But I'm putting my 4X4 into the panel-shop today, to get it ready for sale. & I'll be trailering my bike down there, to ride it back. So that's going to be fun. I don't really care how much it rains (my Wets work well). But I'll be glad if the wind dies down soon. It should. The eye has already passed us, & is half way to the NT already. So hopefully, there isn't too much left in it. It is ONLY a cat 1 after all.

startnover · 01-24-2010, 03:41 PM

That sounds nasty! We're having a mild winter day with temps just above freezing and a little rain. It's going to get cold tonight and turn everything into a sheet of ice. I know better than to go out without anything but 4WD. The rain is a different matter. I ride in the rain once in a while but I lost traction once years ago (bad fall) and have been skiddish, mind the pun, ever since. Take care man.

JollyRgr · 01-24-2010, 11:00 PM

Old Scratcher - It'll be fine....it's only a Cat 1 after all

. Safe riding.

Old Scratcher · 01-25-2010, 12:41 AM

It was actually right over me when I first posted this, which would explain why the thunder was so bloody loud. It must have rained 10-15" in the 3-4 hours it was at it's heaviest. Fortunately the wind wasn't too bad (wussy little cat 1 that it was), so everything looks like it came through unscathed, & I haven't heard of any property damage. The Monsoon Trough is still very active though, with lots of Lows embedded in it. Anyone of which could become our next named storm. & it hasn't actually stopped raining, just slowed to a constant drizzle. Which means I did have a wet ride back from the panel-shop. But it wasn't strong enough to detract from the fun. & if it eases back a little more, I'm going to fire up the ride-on & resume my relentless battle with the lawn. That's the Wet Season for you.

dogtired · 01-25-2010, 07:58 AM

Wonder how much will hit the channel country scratcher, and then meander its way down to Lake Eyre. Be good to see it pump it up a bit more.

Old Scratcher · 01-25-2010, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dogtired

Wonder how much will hit the channel country scratcher, and then meander its way down to Lake Eyre. Be good to see it pump it up a bit more.

Not much. I'd think. The ground's still parched from 9 months of dry weather. So most of that water will get soaked up, which is great for the watertable & the artesian basin. The next big flood should run off into the channel country. Though how much of it makes it past the big cotton stations, & their massive storage dams, into Lake Eyre is debatable (& deplorable)

dogtired · 01-25-2010, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Scratcher

Though how much of it makes it past the big cotton stations, & their massive storage dams, into Lake Eyre is debatable (& deplorable)

There is a school of thought that runs something to the effect that the amount of water, or lack of water in Lake Eyre has some sort of an influence on the rainfall of most of the country east and northeast of the lake. Which just happens to cover a lot of the country that is damming the water thus stopping it getting to Lake Eyre. If this is true, it is kinda ironic that the people damming the water might be creating the problem that they are building the dams to fix...

But as I said, it is only a theory.

Old Scratcher · 01-26-2010, 04:31 AM

Not a bad theory either.
The latest prediction for ex-cyclone Olga is that she'll reform into a cyclone when it gets over the warm shallow waters of the Gulf of Carpinteria. It's then expected to head south east again, back into western Qld, which will give the outback the drink it needs (& may just get Lake Eyre liquid again).