While much of the US and Canada shivers in the dead of winter, summer reigns supreme in the southern hemisphere, and with summer comes tropical storms. Cyclone Yasi is about to slam Australia, and one of the factors that made Yasi so dangerous is record warmth:
The sea surface temperatures over the region of ocean Yasi is traversing were 1.2°C above average during December ... the highest value on record, going back to the early 1900s. Low wind shear and record warm sea surface temperatures will continue to affect Yasi for the next day, and the cyclone should be able to maintain Category 4 strength until landfall Wednesday evening (local time.)
Residents in vulnerable regions are evacuating. Emergency services are on high alert. Even storm rated structures are at risk:
Yasi, with winds of up to 300 km (186 miles) per hour, is so powerful it could blow apart even "cyclone proof" houses, engineers said on Wednesday. Yasi is headed for major towns and cities along the northeast coast. It is believed to be the strongest ever to hit Australia, surpassing Cyclone Tracy which largely destroyed the northern city of Darwin in 1974.