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AUSTRALIA | Zombie storm

Zombie storm set to dump 400 mm of rain on Australia


Digital writers
theweathernetwork.com

Friday, December 14, 2018, 7:49 AM - With Christmas right around the corner, 'zombie storms' might seem to be out of season. But just such a storm is on its way to Australia, right now.

Tropical systems that makes landfall once, then regenerate once they moves out over open water again are sometimes given the nickname 'zombie storms', and that's exactly what is happening with Cyclone Owen. The storm first formed in the Coral Sea last week before making landfall north of Cairns. The core of the cyclone then continued west, into the Gulf of Carpentaria, where it slowly regenerated and made a turn back to the east.

(Related: Memorable moments from the 2018 hurricane season)



The track takes 'zombie Owen' back along part of its own previous path, meaning another round of damaging winds and heavy rainfall for parts of the Cape York Peninsula of northern Queensland.

It is expected to bring wind gusts around 280 km/h, reaching Category 4 strength. The latest computer models show Owen making landfall south of Kowanyama, on Cape York Peninsula's east coast. The storm could bring up to 400 mm of rain which will cause major and devastating flooding for some areas. 

While the term sounds dramatic, 'zombie storms' aren't all that uncommon in places where hurricanes and cyclones can pass over relatively narrow landmasses before moving out over tropical waters once again, as they can for northern Australia, or for the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Hurricane Leslie, which struck Portugal earlier this year, was also dubbed a zombie storm by media outlets when it unexpectedly restrengthened as it move north through the central Atlantic.

With files from Weather Network meteorologists Jaclyn Whittal and Caroline Floyd

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