Thursday, March 6

Cyclone Alfred is expected to slam into Australia's eastern coast tomorrow, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to a region that has not experienced a cyclone of this strength in decades.

Cyclones are rare in Australia, apart from the northernmost regions of the country, and cyclones that form farther south rarely make landfall. However, Alfred is packing winds of over 60 mph as it slowly approaches eastern Australia.

Alfred began as a tropical cyclone in the waters northeast of the state of Queensland, and it quickly moved south while slowly strengthening in the warm waters off the coast. Now, the storm has taken a sharp turn to the west, and it is projected to make landfall in the coming days. Unfortunately, Alfred has set its sights directly on Brisbane, a major Australian city of around 2.7 million people and the capital of Queensland. However, the cyclone will also affect the northeastern part of the state of New South Wales, bringing heavy rain to a region that is rarely hit by such storms.

Cyclone Alfred is bringing strong winds of over 60 mph and gusts of up to 95 mph, along with heavy rain that is already sparking flooding across the Brisbane metropolitan area. It will also arrive with major storm surge, and the conditions are creating waves of up to 40 feet in some areas.

Dangerous flooding is also possible in New South Wales, where several strong storms in the past few years have devastated communities. Creeks and rivers are likely to overflow, washing away homes, roads, and businesses. The storm's slow-moving speed will also allow it to dump more rain over Brisbane and its surrounding towns, exacerbating the flooding.

Preparations are already being made, with people lining the exteriors of their homes with sandbags, and the government has closed hundreds of schools, several airports, and all public transportation. Some people have also chosen to leave temporarily, but no mandatory evacuations are in place.

Cyclones in regions this far south are extremely uncommon-- the area has not experienced a cyclone warning since 1990, and Alfred will be the first cyclone to make landfall in southeastern Queensland since 1974. However, as climate change worsens, natural disasters and extreme weather events will continue to become more frequent as the world's climate changes.

Fact of the Day (Reader's Digest): The world's longest pizza was baked by a group of US-based companies and one Italian company-- over 250 chefs worked together to create a pizza over 1.15 miles long.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Wasting time is one of the worst faults of the world. Life is so short, every moment is so precious and yet, we live as if life will never end. (Franz Liszt)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Askew (adj, uh-SKYOO) - Askew means “not straight” or “at an angle,” and can be used as both an adjective and an adverb.

In a Sentence: The picture on the cabin wall was slightly askew.