For the last two days we’ve bore the brunt of another East Coast Low. Enormous seas continue to pummel the coast and ferocious winds are lashing the shoreline. Rain is torrential at times. With all the hallmarks of a tropical cyclone, but with slightly less intensity, the ECL (East Coast Low) is generally short lived in comparison lasting only a few days and with wind strengths marginally lower. There is however still the risk of flash flooding and storm damage.

The ECL can occur on the east coast of Australia at any time of the year, sometimes as a hangover from a tropical cyclone and at other times of the year, more commonly during Autumn and Winter, due to favourable upper atmospheric conditions.  Air pressure over warmer sea temperatures found in eddies of warm water travelling in the East Coast Current collide with weather conditions such as a cold trough travelling across the land and produce a rapidly forming intense low pressure system. They are very unpredictable and can form rapidly. Similar conditions are also reported off the coast of Africa and America where they are known as an east coast cyclone.

So for us, well we’ve hunkered down with the windows shut tight and the gutters overflowing. Hot soups and casseroles are the order of the day. Our little butcher bird friends have visited our windowsill in between showers, their appetites bigger than usual.

As the low passes tonight, the clouds are still heavy but the relentless seas still batter the coast. Stay safe beautiful people. xxx

view a short video on my vimeo account here: