We're in for a rough night.

For a change the radio and television are not running their programs. Everything is live coverage of the weather, with constant updates and weather warnings.

 Poncho Pete sorting out the pool. It is nearly overflowing so will release a little bit of the water.

Here on the Gold Coast, where our house sit is, we are just seeing the beginnings of what they tell us will be a fairly nasty 24 hours. The wind around the city and around the coast is bad, people hardly able to stand up in it, especially around the high rise buildings, the hotels etc which sets up a funnel for the wind to whip through.

The little fountain pool is overflowing.

This house is on the western sheltered side of a highish hill, and the weather is coming from the east, from the ocean, so we are more sheltered than some of the areas. That is good, but the tall gum trees up the back of the block are certainly moving around a lot. They are forecasting winds of around 100 km an hour, with some gusts more than that.

 

The trees up the back.

 

The ground is absolutely sodden. Peter and I have been outside making sure everything is ship shape for overnight. We keep some beach balls on the pool, they are supposed to keep the ducks away, although no-one told the ducks, they still visit sometimes. I threw them over the fence ready to collect and put in the shed and lol…the wind took them down the driveway onto the grass, so I had to retrieve them from the soggy grass.



Pool balls having a rest in the shed till the rain is over.

 I think the ground here is basically rock, there is top soil on top, but really the majority is solid rock so I don’t have any worries about the ground slipping. Anyway this area has been through other bad weather like this and been fine. The only thing that I will keep an eye on is the tall gum trees up the back. If one of them comes down, it could get the house, but I don’t think there will be any problems.

They are forecasting between 100 and 200 mils of rainfall over the next 24 to 36 hours. That is 4 to 8 inches. We have had 60 mils in the last couple of hours, and around 6 inches so far, maybe more.

Fortunately there are no thunder storm associated with this weather. That would make it really bad, although there are hundreds of people without power now all along the coast.

The home owners have got a handy little rain gauge on the end of the clothes line. For the past couple of months it has been dying of thirst, now it is saving 60 mls every couple of hours.

 The poor bedraggled birds are looking a bit sad, sheltering where they can. The tame ones are coming to the back door ordering their dinner, haha, and sucker Peter is handing out some bread for them.


My blue coat. This is my faithful blue coat I take to China for the cold. It has saved me from minus 7 afternoons in Suzhou, snow in Tiananmen Square, and freezing cold winds all over China. Today for the first time I have used it in Queensland, we never need anything warm here, but I have found out it is not waterproof. Windproof yes, but it lets through copious amounts of rain.....lol...

Off to make a coffee and watch the news again.