Cyclone Larry just tore across the GBR:

[Ninong]

The AP is reporting on Tropical Cyclone Larry making landfall just south of Cairns but their facts are off and misleading. Yes, it was a Category 5 with gusts to 180 mph while still at sea but it was downgraded to a Category 4 (winds 131-155 mph) before making landfall and it weakened substantially shortly after coming ashore.

Right now it has maximum sustained winds of 100 kts (115 mph) with gusts to 125 kts (144 mph). It is just south of Cairns. (P.S. -- That's where it was when I posted this Sunday evening.)

This is not good news for the Great Barrier Reef.

P.S. -- The AP has "updated" their article (linked above) to report that it was actually a Cat 3 when it made landfall:

"The Bureau of Meteorology on Monday upgraded the cyclone to a Category 5 — the strongest category possible — shortly before it crossed the coast, but then lowered it to a Category 3 as the storm crossed land and weakened, with wind gusts up to 125 mph."

Unfortunately, it was a Cat 5 when it swept over the GBR. The GBR probably acted like a sponge to suck up it's energy and sap it's strength.

[ANGRY JOHN]

storms do damage but are natural. like the forest fires of california, that take out the smaller trees in the redwood forest. human inpact is what screws everything up. now that we have helped by stoping the fires now the big trees have to compete with the trees growing up between them and now if there is a fire it will burn down the hole forest redwoods and all. the point is there are natural processes that happen and we do not fully understand all that happens during these events. on first view a fire is a bad thing but good does come from it. while i dont know of any spefic benifits of a storm, mabe it clears out the overgrowth to reduce population density, or just helps propigate some species. not all things are what they appear on the surface.;)

[BubbaWPB]

I'm sure the GBR has seen a few tropical cyclones in its long history.

[Ninong]

I'm sure the GBR has seen a few tropical cyclones in its long history.

Yes, but this was the strongest one in decades and the GBR has been suffering from other problems lately. It will take at least 20 years for the area damaged by Larry to recover.

[BubbaWPB]

....maybe it did a good washing out of all the polluted water? (just trying to be hopeful here...)

[ANGRY JOHN]

"DAMAGE" this idea is based on a human perception on how things should be. every natural thing on the planet goes threw stress change and minor distruction. it may have killed some annimals and rearanged some rocks but this is the fuel for change. the huge amount of diversity seen on the reefs has come from change and adaptions to and form the environment. now i will definatly concede that things might not look pretty for a while but it might grow back diffrent and better or might not. i guess i am saying that things change and it is the fuel for natures creations.