02.01.11

Category 5 Tropical Cyclone Yasi

Posted in Non-US Weather, Tropical Weather at 1:27 pm by Rebekah

Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi is a Category 5 tropical cyclone this morning (Australian scale …Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale).

The maximum sustained winds are 138 mph (221 kph), and the minimum central pressure is 924 mb. Yasi is moving towards the west-southwest at about 17 mph (28 kph).

Yasi, at 1732 Z (3:32 am Australian EST), from UW-CIMSS (click to enlarge)

Yasi’s wind field is enormous, so don’t just focus on where the eye is headed…here’s some excerpts from the latest (5:01 am Australian EST) tropical cyclone advice from the Bureau of Meteorology:

“SEVERE TC YASI IS A LARGE AND VERY POWERFUL TROPICAL CYCLONE AND POSES AN EXTREMELY SERIOUS THREAT TO LIFE AND PROPERTY WITHIN THE WARNING AREA, ESPECIALLY BETWEEN PORT DOUGLAS AND TOWNSVILLE.”

“THIS IMPACT IS LIKELY TO BE MORE LIFE THREATENING THAN ANY EXPERIENCED DURING RECENT GENERATIONS.”

This is obviously some pretty strong wording, so if you are in the path of this cyclone, please take all warnings seriously, and find higher ground if you live near the sea. The storm surge is expected to be very high and some areas could get as much as 3 feet of rain, so there will be some flooding up and down the coast (and further inland, wherever the heaviest rains set up).

Yasi’s latest forecast track and intensity, from the Bureau of Meteorology (click to enlarge)

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