Tropical Cyclone Rusty - Western Australia

[spike_01]

If a cyclone forms, it will be called tropical cyclone Rusty, and would be the fourth cyclone in the Western region this season.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/region ... e-brewing/

[ben g]

"like" Perth weather live and pillbara weather on face book they have good pics and updates . Fr the approaching east coast event follow south Brisbane storms and Higgins storm chashing.
Some reading here on east coast storm http://forum.weatherzone.com.au/ubbthre ... s/43682/43
Have given up on this nz weather, getting my fix from Aus now, thank you interweb!
Models have flipped back towards a very powerfull cyclone, see what the next few days runs show.

[Nev]

TC Rusty was named by the BoM yesterday at around 2:30pm AWST (7:30pm NZDT)…

IDW24100
Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
Western Australia
Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre

TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVICE NUMBER 10
Issued at 11:58 pm WST on Sunday 24 February 2013

A Cyclone WARNING is current for coastal areas from Broome to Whim Creek, including Port Hedland.
A Cyclone WATCH is current for coastal areas from Whim Creek to Mardie including Karratha and Dampier and extending inland to Marble Bar and Millstream

At 11:00 pm WST Tropical Cyclone Rusty, Category 1 was estimated to be 325 kilometres north of Port Hedland and 430 kilometres west of Broome and moving south at 5 kilometres per hour.

Tropical Cyclone Rusty is moving slowly towards the coast. Gales are expected on the coast between Wallal and Whim Creek and then extending north to Broome during Monday.

Further intensification is likely as the cyclone approaches the coast on Monday and Tuesday and there is a high risk that it will cross the coast as a severe tropical cyclone. However, the slow motion of the cyclone means that the crossing time and location is uncertain.

Rusty is a large tropical cyclone and its slow movement should result in higher than usual rainfall in the Pilbara and western Kimberley. Very heavy rainfall is expected in near coastal parts of the eastern Pilbara and western Kimberley on Monday. During Tuesday and Wednesday widespread heavy rainfall is likely to lead to major flooding in the De Grey catchment. Significant flooding in the Fortescue is also likely.

DFES State Emergency Service (SES) advises of the following community alerts:
BLUE ALERT: People in communities between Broome and Whim Creek need to prepare for cyclonic weather and organise an emergency kit including first aid kit, torch, portable radio, spare batteries, food and water.

People between Whim Creek and Mardie and inland parts of the central and eastern Pilbara should listen for the next advice.

Details of Tropical Cyclone Rusty at 11:00 pm WST:
.Centre located near...... 17.4 degrees South 118.2 degrees East
.Location accuracy........ within 55 kilometres
.Recent movement.......... towards the south at 5 kilometres per hour
.Wind gusts near centre... 120 kilometres per hour
.Severity category........ 1
.Central pressure......... 980 hectoPascals

The next advice will be issued by 3:00 am WST Monday 25 February.

[Richard]

An eye clearly has formed in the last few hours too,boy she's now big storm system

[spike_01]

Looks to be a Cat 4 at least..

Port Headland is being aimed at.

[spike_01]

Wednesday

[NZstorm]

Some waterspout/tornado activity on the New South Wales coast at the weekend. EF2 rating.
Just damage pics as the event occurred early morning Sunday.
http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/stor ... ma/?cs=307

[Manukau heads obs]

when Foggy was here I was talking to him about Port Headland and cylcones
and we were commenting on how warm the water is off the coast there at the moment
then the next few days after the weather meet a new MJO started up and models had a cyclone forming
so been lots of warning, heeded I would say

[Nev]

BoM still optimistic that Rusty will reach Cat 4 before making landfall near Port Headland later today. Storm surges coinciding with high spring-tides around midday and midnight LT could be a problem, along with 500-600mm of rain forecast over the next 3 days…

Earlier comment from the BoM…

'Cyclone Rusty gathers strength off Pilbara coast' - ABC News

Earlier, the bureau's Andrew Burton likened the system to a storm of biblical proportions.
"We are talking Noah's Ark here, we really are talking phenomenal amounts of rainfall," he said.

IDW24100
Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology
Western Australia
Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre

TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVICE NUMBER 29
Issued at 2:56 am WST on Wednesday 27 February 2013

A Cyclone WARNING is current for coastal areas from Bidyadanga to Mardie including Port Hedland, Karratha and Dampier, and adjacent inland areas of the Pilbara, including Marble Bar, Nullagine, Millstream and Tom Price.
A Cyclone WATCH is current for remaining central and eastern areas of the Pilbara including Newman, Telfer and adjacent parts of the Gascoyne district.

At 2:00 am WST Severe Tropical Cyclone Rusty, Category 3 was estimated to be
125 kilometres north northeast of Port Hedland and
285 kilometres northeast of Karratha and is near stationary.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Rusty has been near stationary over the last few hours but is expected to resume a southerly track towards the Pilbara coast during Wednesday. The slow motion and large size of Rusty means that the destructive and very destructive winds will occur on the coast well before the centre crosses the coast, and will extend some distance from the centre. Wind gusts to 120 kilometres per hour have already been experienced in Port Hedland and conditions there are likely to get slowly worse during Wednesday.

Gales are occuring on the coast between Sandfire Roadhouse and Whim Creek and may extend west to Karratha and inland towards Marble Bar during Wednesday.

VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds with gusts in excess of 165 kilometres per hour are likely to develop in coastal parts between Whim Creek and Wallal during Wednesday as Severe Tropical Cyclone Rusty approaches the coast.

This is a large tropical cyclone and its slow movement is likely to result in an extended period of destructive winds near the track, with rainfall that is heavier than that associated with a typical system. Widespread very heavy rainfall on Wednesday and Thursday is likely to lead to MAJOR FLOODING in the De Grey catchment. Significant flooding is also likely in the Fortescue catchment and in Pilbara coastal streams.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Rusty's intensity, size and slow movement is also likely to lead to a VERY DANGEROUS STORM TIDE. Tides are likely to rise significantly above the normal high tide mark with DAMAGING WAVES and VERY DANGEROUS COASTAL INUNDATION.

DFES State Emergency Service (SES) advises of the following community alerts:
RED ALERT: People in or near communities between Pardoo and Whim Creek, including Port Hedland and South Hedland should remain in shelter.
YELLOW ALERT: People in communities between Wallal and Pardoo, extending inland to Marble Bar need to take action and get ready to shelter from a cyclone.
BLUE ALERT: People in communities between Bidyadanga and Wallal and between
Whim Creek and Mardie, including Karratha and extending to inland areas including Nullagine and Millstream, need to prepare for cyclonic weather and organise an emergency kit including first aid kit, torch, portable radio, spare batteries, food and water.


Details of Severe Tropical Cyclone Rusty at 2:00 am WST:
.Centre located near...... 19.3 degrees South 119.1 degrees East
.Location accuracy........ within 30 kilometres
.Recent movement.......... near stationary
.Wind gusts near centre... 205 kilometres per hour and INTENSIFYING
.Severity category........ 3
.Central pressure......... 953 hectoPascals

The next advice will be issued by 6:00 am WST Wednesday 27 February.

(track-map, last visible and latest Infrared images...)

[tgsnoopy]

Hannah Weddell is currently holed up in South Hedland. They are under a Red Warning meaning they are not allowed to leave the property until the all clear is given:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/29578175

No more updates, but she is ok, still posting on Facebook. They seem to have coverage issues with the 3G Cellular she is reliant on. Last post said it was still pretty quiet compared to what they were expecting.