Weather News

Death of Ului

Tropical Cyclone Ului crossed the east coast of Queensland in the early hours of this morning and is now breaking apart.

Isolated from its source of energy, warm tropical seas, Ului has now fallen below cyclone intensity and has reverted back to a tropical low.

Ului had dropped to a category two system by the time it arrived, although the storm still packed a punch. Close to midnight Mackay took a huge 118km/h gust and Proserpine hit 146km/h, the highest seen in well over a year.

Ului crossed north of Mackay, near Airlie Beach and what is left is now tracking westward.

Heavy rainfall has been, and continues to affect eastern Queensland. Falls of between 100 and 200mm have been seen over a concentrated area between Mackay and Bowen.

Mackay airport recorded 145mm at 9am this morning, their heaviest in a 24 hour time period for two years. Although almost all of it fell within 12 hours, as rain rates soared to 12mm in ten minutes.

The good news is that damaging winds are now no longer a threat, although heavy rainfall and dangerous surf conditions are still a problem.

As Ex-Tropical Cyclone Ului weakens further and heads west, conditions will improve steadily into the new week.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2010

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