Summary
Tropical Cyclone Tasha crossed the far north Queensland coast south of Cairns as a category 1 intensity.
An area of enhanced thunderstorm activity was identified in the northern Coral Sea, southeast of Papua New Guinea on 20 December. This area moved to the southwest over the following days and a tropical low formed on 24 December in a very favourable environment for development. The low subsequently intensified to reach tropical cyclone intensity in the overnight of Christmas eve. Tropical Cyclone Tasha only remained a category 1 system until its landfall along the North Tropical Coast near Gordonvale, south of Cairns on Christmas morning.
Widespread rainfall in the order of 150-250mm was experienced on the southern side of the system as it made landfall. The torrential rains caused thousands of hectares of cropland and many towns to go underwater. The town of Ingham was isolated as the Herbert River reached a level of 12.2 m.
The heavy rain areas spread southwards following Tasha's landfall causing flooding in southern Queensland towns. The town of Dalby was split in two by the swollen Myall Creek, leaving more than 100 homes flooded. One fatality took place in Mareeba, inland from where Tasha made landfall, where a man drowned after being swept off a footbridge. In Theodore, much of the area was flooded after the Dawson River reached its highest level in 50 years, cresting around 14 m.
Track and Intensity(Time in AEST (UTC+10h))
Weekly rainfall ending 1 February 2010
