Sunday, April 6

Australia's Outback is in a mess after days of torrential rains, turning the desert into a lake the size of Texas.

The flooding has primarily been in the province of Queensland, located on the northeast side of the Australian continent. The rain has been caused by a combination of factors, though it began from the remnants of Post-Tropical Cyclone Dianne last week. Over the last few days, rain has poured onto the Outback, full of wide plains and small hills, turning what was a desert into a massive lake.

The record-breaking rain was the strongest to hit Queensland in over 50 years, flooding homes and wiping out power to thousands of people. In just four days, some areas of western Queensland received over four times their monthly average rainfall for March, and other areas surpassed their yearly precipitation averages during the same period of time. Several other towns, such as Winton, smashed their daily rainfall records-- Winton beat their previous record of 102 mm by 56 mm.

Now, all of that water that fell is beginning to drain, as it is currently pooled in the usually-dry Outback. The water will slowly begin to flow into Lake Eyre, known as Kati Thanda by the locals, delivering nutrients from the water into the areas that it moves through. Scientists predict that this could be extremely beneficial for the local wildlife, who would receive a significant boost in food and nutrients following the movement of the water.

However, this flooding is still unusual, and it has done major damage to the areas affected by it. Unfortunately, odd weather events like this will continue to become more and more common and increasingly prevalent as climate change persists, drastically changing weather patterns all over the world.

Fact of the Day (Today): The Caesar salad was invented on July 4, 1924 by Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini at his restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Don’t cry because it’s over; smile because it happened. (Dr. Seuss)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Benign (adj, bih-NYNE) - Benign describes something that does not cause harm or damage. In medical contexts it is used to describe something that does not threaten life or health (as in "a benign tumor"). Additional meanings include "mild and pleasant" (as in "benign weather conditions") and "showing kindness and gentleness" (as in "a benign outlook").

In a Sentence: The project required that we manage some inconvenient but ultimately benign conditions.