After crossing the Northern Territory as Category 1 cyclone, Tiffany has downgraded to a tropical low.

The system is now moving west over the Top End with sustainable winds of 83 km/h. Tiffany will continue to gradually weaken, however a threat of heavy rainfall, strong winds and flooding remains.

Update: 11th of January, 9:00 p.m. UTC

Cyclone Tiffany is currently making landfall on the west coast of Gulf of Carpentaria in Northern Territory of Australia.

The system has weakened over the past several hours and is now unlikely to reach Category 2 before landfall close to Port Roper. Tiffany is located near 14.9S 136.8E, carrying maximum sustainable winds of 101 km/h.

Update: 11th of January, 10:00 a.m. UTC

Tiffany is located near 15.1S 139.6E, moving over the Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland with maximum winds of 74 km/h.

It is expected to cross the east coast of the Northern Territory tomorrow as category 2 cyclone and then weaken into a depression.

Update: 10th of January, 5:30 p.m. UTC

Tropical cyclone Tiffany has weakened into a tropical low after making landfall in far north Queensland. The storm currently has maximum winds of 64 km/h.

Tiffany is however forecasted to strengthen again as it moves over the Gulf of Carpentaria and even reach Category 3 before striking the east coast of the Northern Territory.

Update: 10th of January, 6:30 a.m. UTC

Cyclone Tiffany has approached the Cape York peninsula as Category 2 storm and made landfall on Monday early hours. The storm brought ferocious winds and heavy rainfall.

Tiffany is currently located southeast of Coen, travelling east towards the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Northern Territory's east coast.

It has downgraded to Category 1 cyclone with maximum winds of 120 km/h. Further weakening is expected, but will probably maintain tropical cyclone strength as it moves westward across the Cape.

Update: 9th of January, 10:00 p.m. UTC

Tiffany is located near 14.1S 144.9E with maximum sustainable winds 101 km/h near the center and wind gusts 130 km/h. It maintains its category 2 status and It will likely remain a cyclone over land until it reaches the Gulf of Carpentaria.

The system is expected to make landfall as Category 3 cyclone near Coen during morning hours, local time.

Update: 9th of January, 10:00 a.m. UTC

Cyclone Tiffany has rapidly intensified in the last several hours and gained Category 2 status. Cyclone is moving west towards the Cape York Peninsula, the approximate position is 200 km north-west of Cooktown.

The landfall should begin on Monday early hours. System is expected to bring damaging to destructive winds and heavy rain to communities in far north Queensland.

Tiffany is then forecast to move into the Gulf of Carpentaria, potentially intensify again and affect areas of the eastern Northern Territory from Wednesday.

https://www.windy.com/-Hurricane-tracker/hurricanes?gustAccu,-13.900,137.211,5,i:pressure,internal

I vigili del fuoco continuano a combattere gli incendi boschivi fuori controllo nell'Australia occidentale. Le temperature eccezionalmente elevate raggiungono valori oltre i 38 gradi, scatenando il caos in tutto lo stato.

Il premier WA Mark McGowan si è rivolto oggi ai media, descrivendo le fiamme come "implacabili". La temperatura massima registrata è stata di 42,8 gradi a Perth e quello di quest'anno è stato il Natale più caldo mai registrato.

Per le feste natalizie è massima l'allerta incendi. In tutta l'Australia occidentale è stata vietata l'accensione di fuochi. Le autorità hanno dichiarato l’emergenza nelle aree più vicine agli incendi, avvertendo i cittadini del pericolo: "dovete agire immediatamente per sopravvivere: le vostre vite e le vostre case sono in pericolo".

Ad aggravare la situazione adesso è il vento che ostacola il lavoro dei vigili del fuoco, alimentando le fiamme con scintille e tizzoni ardenti che rischiano di generare nuovi focolai.

Negli ultimi giorni, tra Natale e Santo Stefano, i roghi hanno distrutto centinaia di ettari di vegetazione e diverse abitazioni.

Resta aggiornato con le previsioni meteo europee, italiane e siciliane: iscriviti su MeteoG - Telegram

Cyclone Kimi has downgraded to a tropical low and it is unlikely it will cross the north Queensland coast now.

Strong winds are no longer expected, however there is still possibility for flooding in areas from Innisfail and Bowen.

Update: 18th of January 11:00 a.m. UTC

Tropical cyclone Kimi intensifies, it is currently a Category 2 and the track of the storm changes very fast.

Kimi remains a very unpredictable and residents should be prepared for life-threatening flooding, especially in areas from Innisfail and Ayr, including Lucinda, Palm Island and Townsville.

Cyclone is still meandering off the coast, travelling southeast about 150km north of Townsville.

The system is expected to pass near the Palm Island within 24 hours.

Update: 17th of January 9:00 p.m. UTC

Tropical cyclone Kimi is currently a Category 2 storm, moving slowly south with maximum winds of 101 km/h (55 kt), located at 16.3S 146.6E.

Kimi is likely to intensify to Category 3 cyclone, but decrease back to Cat.2 strength before landfall, which is predicted to be in the area around Cardwell this evening, local time.

Impacts are likely to be significant, dangerous winds up to 150 km per hour, heavy rainfall together with very high tides and flooding are expected.

A warning is in effect for an area covering from Port Douglas to Lucinda.

https://www.windy.com/-Wind-accumulation-gustAccu?gustAccu,-17.516,147.863,7,internal

On Feb. 6, 2020, the MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Terra satellite provided a visible image of newly developed Tropical Storm Damien off Western Australia’s Pilbara coast.

On Feb. 6, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Terra satellite provided a visible image of Damien that showed the storm had a more rounded shape than it did the previous day as it continued to consolidate. A more rounded shape of a tropical cyclone indicates it is becoming a more organized storm. Satellite imagery revealed a small central dense overcast with rain bands wrapping in towards the low-level circulation center.

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM) issued warnings and watches for Damien on Feb. 6. The Warning Zone includes Wallal Downs to Mardie, including Port Hedland, Karratha and Dampier. The Watch Zone extends from Mardie to Onslow, and the inland central Pilbara including Tom Price, Paraburdoo, Marble Bar and Nullagine. A Blue Alert is in effect for residents in or near Wallal Downs to Port Hedland and Mardie to Onslow but not including Onslow, (including the towns of Pannawonica, Tom Price, Paraburdoo, Nullagine and Marble Bar). A Yellow Alert is in effect for residents in or near Port Hedland to Mardie and south to Millstream (including the Town of Port Hedland, Whim Creek, Point Samson, Wickham, Roebourne, Karratha and Dampier).

At 11:00 p.m. AWST (10 a.m. EST) on Feb. 6, the ABM said Tropical Cyclone Damien had maximum sustained winds near 75 kilometers per hour (40 knots/47 mph) with higher gusts. It was located near latitude 17.5 degrees south and longitude 118.1 degrees east, about 315 kilometers (196 miles) north of Port Hedland and 385 kilometers (239 miles) north-northeast of Karratha. Damien is moving to the west-southwest at 20 kilometers (12 miles) per hour.

The tropical cyclone is expected to continue to intensify as it tracks to the west southwest. Damien is expected to turn south towards the Pilbara coast during Friday, Feb 7. ABM cautioned that, “Severe tropical cyclone impact is forecast for the Pilbara coast during Saturday, Feb. 8.”

NASA’s Terra satellite is one in a fleet of NASA satellites that provide data for hurricane research.

Tropical cyclones/hurricanes are the most powerful weather events on Earth. NASA’s expertise in space and scientific exploration contributes to essential services provided to the American people by other federal agencies, such as hurricane weather forecasting.

For updated forecasts from ABM, visit bom.gov.au/products/IDW60281.shtml

Rob Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

https://www.windy.com/-Satellite-satellite?satellite,-29.803,122.783,4,internal

The local impacts of the Australian bushfires have been devastating to property and life in Australia while producing extreme air quality impacts throughout the region.

As smoke from the massive fires has interacted with the global weather, the transport of smoke plumes around the global have accelerated through deep vertical transport into the upper troposphere and even the lowermost stratosphere, leading to long-range transport around the globe.

The smoke from these bushfires will travel across the Southern Ocean completing a global circumnavigation back around to Australia and is particularly pronounced across the southern Pacific Ocean out to South America.

https://www.windy.com/-Satellite-satellite?satellite,-35.568,130.869,4,internal

NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite captured an image of Tropical Storm Blake covering a good portion of Western Australia on January 8, 2020 although its center is just inland from the Kimberley coast. The red spots at the southern extent of the state indicate wildfires. The brown stream extending over the Southern Indian Ocean and into the Great Australian Bight is the smoke generated from the fires.

On January 8, 2020, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard Suomi NPP provided a visible image of Blake that showed its center was just inland from the Kimberley coast. Bands of thunderstorms stretched far south all the way to the southern coast, where fires are raging. In the VIIRS image, red spots at the southern extent of the state indicate the heat signature of wildfires burning. A brown stream extending over the Southern Indian Ocean and into the Great Australian Bight is the smoke generated from the fires.

At 10 p.m. EST on January 7 (0300 UTC on January 8) the Joint Typhoon Warning Center or JTWC in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii issued their final warning on the system. At that time, Blake was centered near latitude 20.7 degrees south and longitude 119.7 degrees east, about 66 nautical miles east-southeast of Port Hedland, Australia. Blake was moving to the southwest and had maximum sustained winds near 35 knots (40 mph).

By January 8 at 10 a.m. EST, radar from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s station in Kalgoorlie showed some showers in the area.

According to the website Emergency WA (Western Australia) there were fires burning south of Kalgoorlie in the Dundas Nature Reserve on January 7 at 11 p.m. EST. That fire is affecting Salmon Gums including the southern part of the Dundas Nature Reserve, Norseman, Higginsville, Widgiemooltha, Londonderry, Burra Rock, Victoria Rock and North Cascade in the Shires of Coolgardie, Dundas, Esperance and Widgiemooltha.

Blake is dissipating inland over the northwestern part of Western Australia, but generating rain that extends to the south.

Tropical cyclones and hurricanes are the most powerful weather events on Earth. NASA’s expertise in space and scientific exploration contributes to essential services provided to the American people by other federal agencies, such as hurricane weather forecasting.

Rob Gutro
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

https://www.windy.com/-Satellite-satellite?satellite,-34.886,114.961,4,internal

It is understandable that the world is really concerned on the deadly bushfires in Australia, but just as a wild fire, fake news also burn across the net. Several articles and images were actually outdated or miscaptioned.

The circulating image is NOT actually a photo, but an enhanced graph showing the bushfire-affected areas in Australia from Dec. 5, 2019-January 5, 2020.

A closer look from the image will show the tell-tale signs that it is not really a photo taken from space: the islands surrounding Australia are missing, the clouds are not present, and intensity of bushfires makes them more of "pools of lava" rather than burning vegetation.

While the data comes from a credible source (NASA), the graph doesn't necessarily show the actual spatial extent of the wildfires and NOT all of those are currently burning.

"Given the nature of misinformation, it can spread wildly, much like bushfire can," - Dr Andrea Carson, Political Communication expert from La Trobe University

Here's how misinformation spread like wildfires.

Earth Shaker is an organization which aims to shake the appreciation of Earth Sciences in the society and empower citizens to have science-based decisions. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

https://www.windy.com/-Active-fires-fires?fires,2020010700,-30.069,122.476,4,internal

Tropical Cyclone Blake located just off the west Kimberley coast is moving south and is expected to make landfall near Wallal Downs early Wednesday morning.

Areas Affected

• Warning Zone: Bidyadanga to De Grey, extending inland to Shay Gap
• Watch Zone: None
• Cancelled Zone: None

Details of Tropical Cyclone Blake at 8:00 pm AWST

Intensity: Category 1, sustained winds near the centre of 75 kilometres per hour with wind gusts to 100 kilometres per hour.

Location: within 45 kilometres of 19.1 degrees South 121.0 degrees East, estimated to be 85 kilometres north northeast of Wallal Downs and 95 kilometres west southwest of Bidyadanga.

Movement: south at 6 kilometres per hour.

Tropical Cyclone Blake lies just offshore west southwest of Bidyadanga. It is likely to track close to the west Kimberley coast this evening and cross the coast along Eighty Mile Beach near Wallal Downs early Wednesday morning as a category 1 tropical cyclone.

There is a chance the system may take a more southwest track early Wednesday morning close to the coast. If this occurs, it may stay just far enough off the coast to intensify slightly further before making landfall later Wednesday morning between Wallal Downs and Pardoo Roadhouse.

Hazards

GALES may be occurring along coastal parts between Bidyadanga and Sandfire. GALES could extend to Wallal Downs during this evening. There is a slight risk of GALES extending further along the Pilbara coast as far as De Grey and to inland parts of the eastern Pilbara as far inland as Shay Gap late Tuesday and into early Wednesday morning.

Heavy rainfall associated with the system is expected in the eastern Pilbara and far southwest Kimberley during the remainder of today and Wednesday. Persistent monsoonal rain and thunderstorm activity is also expected to continue in the northwest Kimberley with heavy falls possible a considerable distance away from the system centre.

Flood Watches and Warnings are current, please refer to http://www.bom.gov.au/wa/warnings/ for further details.

Recommended Action

DFES advises of the following community alerts:

YELLOW ALERT: People in or near communities from Bidyadanga to Wallal, including Wallal, need to take action and get ready to shelter from a cyclone.

BLUE ALERT: People in or near communities from Wallal to De Grey, extending inland to include Shay Gap, need to prepare for cyclonic weather and organise an emergency kit including first aid kit, torch, portable radio, spare batteries, food and water.

Tropical cyclone Blake Advice number 23, issued by Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology at 8:45 pm WST on Tuesday 7 January 2020

Next Advice

The next advice will be issued by 12:00 am AWST Wednesday 08 January.

Cyclone advices and DFES Alerts are available by dialling 13 DFES (13 3337)

https://www.windy.com/-Satellite-satellite?satellite,-23.140,117.675,6,internal

With the raging wildfires, widespread air quality issues, caused by very high surface particulate matter values, will affect many people over the coming days, latest Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service forecasts reveal.

As significant numbers of bushfires burn in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), monitors their intensity and emissions. Data collected by CAMS shows that the fires are unprecedented when compared to the previous 16 years for New South Wales.

CAMS, which is implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Union, provides daily estimates of global fire emissions with its Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS), which assimilates fire radiative power (FRP) observations from satellite-based sensors.

Recent satellite imagery shows massive smoke plumes over New South Wales and Queensland, turning day into night in some areas. The fires have even been burning in the kind of intensity never experienced before in places usually not seriously affected such as Northern New South Wales and tropical Queensland and according to scientists. Smoke from the fires has been transported beyond New Zealand and over the South Pacific Ocean with satellite observations showing that it may reach South America in coming days.

The monthly hydrological summaries of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), also implemented by ECMWF, showed August, September and October anomalies with high positive resp. dry values for eastern Australia, that are consistent with long-term drought conditions and are contributing to the current fire conditions. Most of the extratropical Southern Hemisphere, particularly in Australia and the southern part of Africa are currently experiencing drier than usual conditions.

Very high surface atmospheric particulate matter has also been causing air quality issues with New South Wales declaring a state of emergency in the wake of fires.

Fires, not only in Australia, but worldwide, can now be tracked by users of the App, Windy, which has added a new map “Active fires”. Input for the new layer is provided by the Copernicus Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS) and displays the daily average of the fire radiative power (FRP).

CAMS Senior Scientist, Mark Parrington, comments: “We have been closely monitoring the intensity of the fires and the smoke they emit and when comparing the results with the average from a 17-year period, they are very unusual in number and intensity, especially in New South Wales, for being so early in the fire season.”

For further information visit atmosphere.copernicus.eu/global-fire-emissions

https://www.windy.com/-PM2-5-pm2p5?cams,pm2p5,-32.584,150.073,5,internal

Northern Rivers Zone NSW RFS (Rural Fire Service) shared this aerial-view footage of a dust devil, that formed during the Northern Rivers Fires at Bungawalbin-Whiporie Rd. Below, you can watch the video, that was taken from Firebird 200 Iroquois UH 1-B on August 15th, 2019.

A dust devil is a strong, well-formed, and relatively long-lived whirlwind, ranging from small (half a metre wide and a few metres tall) to large (more than 10 metres wide and more than 1000 metres tall). The primary vertical motion is upward.

https://www.windy.com/annotation/5d5c1a822fceb60019040c46