The northern coast of Cuba has now been hit by Ike and once again a mass evacuation has been implemented. Wind speeds in excess of 120 mph are battering the area with storm surge and torrential rain causing widespread flooding. Nearly 50 people are reported dead on Haiti and Hurricane Ike has destroyed 80% of all homes on the main Turks and Caicos Islands (as quoted by the Turks and Caicos Prime Minister).

Hurricanes are formed when a strong cluster of thunderstorms drift into warm ocean water. They are known as Hurricanes in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, and Typhoons in the western Pacific. In the Bay of Bengal and Indian oceans they are known as Cyclones. (Whatever their name, they are all hugely destructive and damaging).  As the cluster of storms drift over the warm ocean they combine to provide a powerful updraft of warm air, creating low pressure at the surface.

The storm now starts to spin as trade winds blow from opposing directions and the continuing rising warm air decreases pressure at higher altitudes. To fill this low pressure air starts to rise faster and faster drawing with it more and more warm, moist air from the sea and driving cooler, dryer air downwards.

Now as the storm continues across the ocean it sucks up more and more warm air, causing wind speeds to rise as air is sucked into the low pressure centre. A fully formed hurricane has an eye of calm winds where cold air descends. Circulating around this eye is the warm, moist and powerful maelstrom winds and clouds laden with heavy rains of the storm.

As these hurricanes hit land they have a devastating impact and with a sea surge produced below the storm due to its intense low pressure much flooding ensues. This is often the main cause of death in a hurricane. But once they move inland they lose their source of power, the warm ocean,  winds will rapidly decrease but the rain bearing clouds are likely to take a huge amount of precipitation inland for many miles, often hundreds of miles.

Ike has now weakened from a category 4 storm to a category 3 as it passes over Cuba. The eye of the hurricane came ashore near Punta Lucrecia, 510 miles to the south east of Havana. The main concern now in Cuba is that Ike will head directly into Havana which is Cuba’s most populated city, and has many precarious and historic colonial buildings which would be under grave threat from a storm like Ike.

Hurricane Ike is about to enter the Gulf of Mexico and here it is likely to strengthen as it is fed by the warm Gulf. Its path is hard to predict but currently could be making landfall anywhere from Florida to Texas, so residents will be getting nervous as they are once again in the path of a potential category 5 monster in what is turning out to be a very active hurricane season

Australia’s weather continues to be a roller coaster ride with the southern states of the country looking at ways to combat a water shortage resulting from the ten year drought whilst the north eastern peninsula of Queensland and northern parts of New South Wales including Sydney are being inundated with torrential rains and flooding. Warnings for a ‘Flood Watch’ from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology have also been issued for some of the southern parts of New South Wales.

A ‘Severe Weather Warning’ remains in place for Queensland with dangerous surf and abnormally high water levels expected. Strong Easterly swells from tropical cyclone ‘Gene’ are causing a surge in wave energy.

Up to 62% of Queensland remains drought declared but at the same time 70% has been declared a disaster area due to the current floods. It is anticipated that once the flood waters recede there will be benefits to the local rural economies in increased levels in water catchments but the state will initially face a flood bill in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The capital of Queensland, Brisbane, had water reserves of just 20% before the current rains which are expected to bolster that figure significantly.

The rain has caused havoc with some train lines in Queensland being all but washed away and estimates of repairs taking up to three weeks.

In New South Wales flash flooding isolated parts of Wollongong north of Sydney, whilst in Sydney some roads have also been cut off due to flooding. It is forecast that a further 200 millimetres of rain could fall over the next 24 hours along the eastern coast of Australia with some parts of the state already receiving almost 300 millimetres of rain in the past five days. Sydney’s water reserves are now at about 60%

And while many people may be thinking that the drought has broken authorities are refusing to ease water restrictions. The Queensland State Government is progressing with a plan to limit household water consumption with a quota of 230 litres per person per day.

The southern state of Victoria continues to move ahead with plans for a water desalination plant and other water piping and infrastructure projects to combat that States water crisis.