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January2014

Weather diary page

Jan 3: Saw a Common Kingfisher today - http://www.birdingintaiwan.com/commonkingfisher.htm. They are a very bright blue and hard to miss. The last few days have been warm for this time of year with no dbjf, highs in the mid 20's. A cold front is moving in today. (Note Mike: have also seen this kingfisher around recently- wonder if it's a seasonal thing as well - beautiful bird)

Jan 8: Distinct pattern to the weather throughout Dec and Jan. Warm calm days, then a front moves down bringing wind and cold air and a bit of rain if you're lucky. Today is the zenith of the warm calm bit - front due to cross tonight. First ripe tomato a couple of days ago and first strawberry today. This is almost exactly the same as last year. A couple of days earlier maybe. Caught yet another mongoose today. Will release him far away from here.

Jan 14: Sizeable tropical depression has formed over ppe and seems to be sitting there - not forecast to move for a week. Kicked up a little rain in first couple of days but the main thing is the wind which i assume is being sucked in. Huge dbjf for three days running. Didn't think it could get much bigger than yesterday but today is shaping up as even more extreme. The ocean almost looks flattened out by the force of the wind. No cold front as such but cold blast of air coming through. Estimate around 70kph - possibly gusting up to 80. Also three earthquakes overnight - all 4 plus, biggest was 4.8, and centred close to here. Pretty big for this area. Nightjar has taken up residence on my drive - hasn't started calling yet thank God - that usually happen in mid feb.

Jan 21: That depression was 'as advertized' and stayed pretty much stationary for a week causing severe flooding and 40 deaths in ppe. No further rain here though strong dbjf has continued - often well into the night. Outlook also looks dry - only 9 mil so far and we'll be lucky if we get any more for jan. Meanwhile, heatwave in Aus causing bushfires in WA and VIC, including Grampians National Park (near hometown. Temp down to 14C in XC tonight.

Jan 27: mixed bag of perfect days and a couple of big dbjf's - but still no rain. would seem to be significantly colder than previous winters.

Jan Rainfall Total: 9mm (equal driest month i've recorded)