World Weatherwatch: Tropical Cyclone Owen in Queensland, Australia; flash flooding in South Africa; and a heavy snowstorm in the central US

Tropical Cyclone Owen brought flash flooding, storm surges and destructive winds to Queensland, Australia in the last week. Gaining its strength over the Gulf of Carpentaria, it made landfall on Saturday morning as a category 3 cyclone and brought winds gusts up to 124mph and torrential downpours – 17cm of rain fell in just two hours in places on the Cape York Peninsula. Weakening to a tropical low, it then continued to track down Queenland’s east coast, with further torrential downpours causing flash flooding to Whitsundays and Central Coast regions, before moving offshore into the Coral Sea on Monday.

Extreme flash flooding has also hit parts of South Africa, as a sudden extreme hailstorm occurred on Saturday in Sun City, to the northwest of Johannesburg. The hail caused damage to building and vehicles, forcing holiday makers to evacuate the area.

In America, a heavy snowstorm swept through south-eastern states on the weekend of 8^th-9^th December. The highest snowfall total was received on Mount Mitchell in North Carolina, where 86cm fell. The weight of the snow brought power lines down, with 300,000 people affected by electricity outages. A large number of flights were cancelled and 670 vehicle collisions were reported in North Carolina.

Link to Guardian feature: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/dec/19/world-weatherwatch-flash-flooding-australia-south-africa