There is a cyclone warning in effect in northern Australia for areas along the coast from Groote Eylandt island to the border of Northern Territory and Queensland. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has classified Tropical Cyclone Megan as a category 3 cyclone after it formed in the Gulf of Carpentaria on Saturday. Megan is expected to reach land on Monday, but has already caused strong winds and intense precipitation in certain regions over the weekend. Due to the heavy rain, Groote Eylandt has been isolated with a recorded rainfall of over 400mm in just 24 hours on Sunday.
It is possible that Megan may intensify to a category 4 hurricane before reaching land, potentially causing winds of up to 125km/h that could cause damage. Megan is the fifth tropical cyclone named in Australian waters this season, which is lower than the usual average of 10 at this point in the year.
Finland has had a relatively mild start to March, but it turned colder over the weekend, with a snowstorm bringing up to 10-15cm of snow and freezing temperatures to parts of the country on Sunday. The low temperatures look set to continue over the next few days, with minimum temperatures as low as -16C expected in Tampere, around 10C below the seasonal average for this time of year. Temperatures are expected to return to around or just above average again by the end of the week.
Meanwhile South Sudan is closing all schools indefinitely from Monday in response to an extreme heatwave, which is likely to persist for at least the next two weeks, with temperatures expected to widely reach 41-45C, with highs closer to 50C in the hottest spots. Overnight temperatures will also remain stubbornly high, not falling much below 27-28C. Temperatures in the capital, Juba, are likely to hit 40-42C every day this week.
Source: theguardian.com
