It seems that Perth has finally decided to join in on the party that has been happening in the Eastern states for many months now.
This is not necessarily a good thing. The party might be a little wild, a little out of control. One wonders if a touch too much alcohol has been involved.
I'm talking, you see, about the weather.
(Although I appreciate that linking weather with parties may be a new peak in my nerdiness.)
After the hottest summer in 34 years, Perth had a warm, sunny autumn and even started winter off with clear skies and temperatures in the mid-20's (celsius). This, of course, happened whilst the Eastern states missed out on summer weather and instead experienced rain, cold, and multiple floods.
In an attempt to catch up, the last week has brought Western Australia a tornado, multiple storms (complete with house damage and extensive blackouts), impressive bursts of rain, and winds of over 100km / hour.
The thing about all of this, other than the rapid transition to winter and the inconvenience to people affected by the storm damage, is that Perth might have joined the party but it doesn't seem to have the stamina to get through the night.
(I think maybe I should move on from the party analogy now.)
The blackouts have lasted for multiple days in some parts of the state, there were primary schools closed on Monday due to roof damage (it wasn't a public holiday here), and in a particularly eventful calamity, a crane at the new children's hospital building site fell over in the wind gusts last week and tipped onto the adjoining, occupied, adult hospital.
What is more, most government departments sent an email around yesterday afternoon to update workers of the latest weather warnings and to encourage them to go home early if possible (!). Consistent with that, both of my workplaces sent around emails encouraging us to go home early if possible (if only work could magically disappear to allow that!).
One of the four universities in Perth even rescheduled exams that were due to occur yesterday, and other univerities encouraged students to leave exams early if they needed to get home before The Storm Hit.
Does this happen elsewhere when storms occur?? Or is Perth just inept at extreme weather? I really suspect it must be the latter.
What is your weather like at the moment?
This is not necessarily a good thing. The party might be a little wild, a little out of control. One wonders if a touch too much alcohol has been involved.
I'm talking, you see, about the weather.
(Although I appreciate that linking weather with parties may be a new peak in my nerdiness.)
After the hottest summer in 34 years, Perth had a warm, sunny autumn and even started winter off with clear skies and temperatures in the mid-20's (celsius). This, of course, happened whilst the Eastern states missed out on summer weather and instead experienced rain, cold, and multiple floods.
When talking about the weather, there are limited opportunities for relevant photos.
This is in City Park, Budapest, Hungary. It's a traditional and still functioning hot spa, which seemed a soothing match for those experiencing winter weather.
In an attempt to catch up, the last week has brought Western Australia a tornado, multiple storms (complete with house damage and extensive blackouts), impressive bursts of rain, and winds of over 100km / hour.
Another old spa, of sorts. I pretty sure this one isn't heated though.
Bodiam Castle, East Sussex.
The thing about all of this, other than the rapid transition to winter and the inconvenience to people affected by the storm damage, is that Perth might have joined the party but it doesn't seem to have the stamina to get through the night.
(I think maybe I should move on from the party analogy now.)
The blackouts have lasted for multiple days in some parts of the state, there were primary schools closed on Monday due to roof damage (it wasn't a public holiday here), and in a particularly eventful calamity, a crane at the new children's hospital building site fell over in the wind gusts last week and tipped onto the adjoining, occupied, adult hospital.
Dubai Museum, Dubai. This was so incredibly hot.
What is more, most government departments sent an email around yesterday afternoon to update workers of the latest weather warnings and to encourage them to go home early if possible (!). Consistent with that, both of my workplaces sent around emails encouraging us to go home early if possible (if only work could magically disappear to allow that!).
Butterflies feeding on fruit; greenhouse at the Botanical Gardens at Kew, London.
It was hot in there too.
One of the four universities in Perth even rescheduled exams that were due to occur yesterday, and other univerities encouraged students to leave exams early if they needed to get home before The Storm Hit.
Does this happen elsewhere when storms occur?? Or is Perth just inept at extreme weather? I really suspect it must be the latter.
What is your weather like at the moment?
wow, that is crazy!!! i am thankful to live in a place that hasn't experienced crazy weather like that, but to be honest i sort of think that places where this happens there needs to be much more preventative thought or at least emergency protocol put in place! i'm sort of having to suspect it's the latter, just like u think. i guess at least they sent an email 'letting' people go home. :P
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful that our experiences are pretty rare - and we don't have the huge natural disasters that make the international news (earthquakes, tsunamis, etc) - but yes, advance preparation is generally a good thing!
DeleteOh no, I had no idea! I feel like a terrible Australian. I hope everything clears up and settles down. Stupid crazy weather! I feel so guilty for complaining about -5 now!
ReplyDeleteStupid crazy weather indeed! But you've been dealing with it far more than we have, so embrace your complaints and reject the guilt :) We're a long way away and our dramas are generally small scale compared to the rest of the country!
DeleteDuring summer, every night I turned on the news, I had to hear about the wonderful summer those in WA were having. And as you've stated, we had nothing but cold and rain and wind and misery. And we've continued to have ongoing rain, more like flooding so I think it's WA's turn to share in the misery. Although you do seem to be catching up fairly quickly with those extreme conditions you've had in the past few days. I hope you keep your power on and that your internet connection doesn't collapse xx
ReplyDeleteTeehee, well put - and yes, we are overdue for a bit of bad weather! Your rain continues to make the national news and I continue to feel badly for you all. I hope it clears up soon, one would think it can only rain for so long??!
DeleteThat is crazy weather you've been having! We have had a few days of heavy rain in the last few weeks (and it's just cold all of the time) but nothing like you have been experiencing. Hope it has passed you by now and the sun starts shining again soon!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mel :) If there is one good thing about WA, it's that the sun isn't usually far away! I hope your temperatures and rain balance out soon too.
DeleteThat is some crazy weather! It rarely gets that insane here in NYC...except maybe during snowstorms. Then the whole city does shut down!
ReplyDeleteI shudder to think how we would cope if it snowed. I suspect we wouldn't!
DeleteI've read the news about WA and living in Queensland, I can certainly relate. Thankfully only our street has flooded and stopped at the driveway. Hope the big blow is over soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks Maureen - and you too! Flooding up to the driveway is definitely close enough.
DeleteIt sounds like a crazy storm to me! I live in Eastern Washington and sometimes they cancel school and college due to snow storms. That's about it. Where I grew up on the Oregon coast we had really bad flooding a lot so we would get sent home early before the water got too high.
ReplyDeleteGosh, that last part sounds a tad daunting. What happened if the water did get too high?? (I'm picturing lots of stranded people!)
DeleteThis'll get you in the mood for living in the UK. I haven't followed perth's weather woes but I am terrible at following any news. We seem to have had a lot of rain here but not too much inconvenience (other than it seems to rain every time I hang my bathers on the line). I like your weather photos - gsther that these are from your travels.
ReplyDelete(BTW scots don't cope with hot weather - when I was told 23 C was a heatwave in Edinburgh I thought it a joke but the buildings are so poorly air conditioned that 23 C is indeed unbearable)
Indeed it will (re. the UK) :-) Although I always think fondly of the central heating system that is in place over there, which makes such a difference - albeit no help at all if a storm blows your house down. It's good for warmth though!
DeleteYour Edinburgh story made me chuckle. 23'C! I had a similar experience in London once when it was 27'C and they were making announcements over the tube to remain hydrated in the 'extreme heat'. As you found, though, 27'C was really hot there! Stuffy and especially on the tube, just horrid.
Oh no! I hope the weather calms down soon!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Me too!
DeleteKari I've heard that WA is having a wild time with storms at the moment, and that a lot people have been with out power. I hope it settles for you soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's been wet, wet, wet here the past week or so. My washing needs sun!
Thanks Brydie, and I have definitely been hearing of your rain. I hope you get that sun soon! I imagine you need it as much as the washing by this stage!
DeleteIt is grey and cold here - I can't wait to leave on our holiday. Oh except the forecast for the UK is grey and cold. WILL I EVER GET TO SEE SUMMER AGAIN!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh no! Maybe it will clear up just for you? And even if it doesn't, I'm pretty sure it will at least be warmer than Canberra :)
DeleteBe sure to stay safe! I don't think it's just Perth - when it rains hard here (every bloody summer) we get emails around the JCU staff list encouraging people to go home - and encouraging supervisors to let them. And before the cyclone the uni closed for a day and a half to let people prep (and was closed afterwards because of the no electricity thing). And, when I was an undergrad student in Upstate NY, on the Canadian border, we regularly got warning emails about the potential for frostbite if outside for more than a few minutes! I think a lot of people do silly things, so governments, unis, and the like feel like they have to be extra careful.
ReplyDeleteAh, interesting to hear it's not just us! I can see that perspective, I suppose some people are fairly foolhardy and no doubt organisations don't want to be blamed for not giving warnings. I hope your part of Queensland is sitting quiet at the moment!
DeleteYeah, we're good - blue skies, warm sun, but cold nights (7 degrees last night!). So if you don't mind the odd cyclone, Townsville is the place for good weather, I think.
DeleteWe're all good here, but we've all been shaking our heads about what has been happening in Perth :) Hopefuly all will settle down now!
ReplyDeleteThanks Liz!
DeleteWow, that is crazy! Hopefully things get back to normal soon.
ReplyDeleteLiving in Vegas, the only we have is just extremely hot and dry weather so, of course, we don't get any alerts like leaving school, etc.
Stay safe!!!
Thanks Kristen :)
Delete