Tropical Cyclone Owen brought flash flooding, storm surges and destructive winds to Queensland, Australia, last week. Gaining strength over the Gulf of Carpentaria, it made landfall on Saturday morning as a category-three cyclone and brought winds of up to 124mph (200km/h) and torrential downpours – 17cm (6.7in) of rain fell in just two hours on the Cape York Peninsula. Weakening to a tropical low, it continued to move down Queenland’s east coast, while further torrential downpours caused flash flooding in the Whitsundays and Central Coast region, before moving offshore into the Coral Sea on Monday.
Flash flooding also hit parts of South Africa, where a sudden extreme hailstorm occurred on Saturday in Sun City, north-west of Johannesburg. The hail damaged buildings and vehicles, forcing holidaymakers to evacuate.
In the US, a heavy snowstorm swept through south-eastern states on 8-9 December. The highest snowfall |(86cm) was at Mount Mitchell in North Carolina. The weight of the snow brought down power lines, leading to blackouts for 300,000 people. Many flights were cancelled and 670 vehicle collisions were reported in the state.
