Red skies

Wednesday
Well, the sky is thick with red/orange dust at the moment. It’s all over the eastern coastline of Australia, not just here. Sydney has absolutely no flights going in or out today, and, for the first time, even the Sydney Manly ferries have been stopped. Visibility is almost nil. Not a good day to do the washing! The winds (80kph) have blown it all in from Northern Territory dry lands and also from the mining area of Mt Isa, out west from here. It’s amazing. The sky is bright red. I cannot even see the trees in my back yard.

Here is the UK Telegraph newspaper report on our dust storm today. It has now left Sydney a mess and it’s in Brisbane.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/6220820/Dust-storm-blankets-Sydney-disrupts-transport.html

Thursday
Brisbane eventually got the same treatment as Sydney did yesterday. The heavy red clouds moved north about lunch-time yesterday but they have cleared completely this morning. Water restrictions have been lifted today so residents can wash their houses. My parents visited yesterday and they have a white car. It was covered in a blanket of red dirt by the time they prepared to leave for home. Dad had to wash his car’s windows. Of course, my family is familiar with the orange-red sky. I was brought up in Wagga. These events are more common in Wagga during the windy conditions of spring. The red dirt is gathered from the dry earth west of Wagga and is picked up and carried on an easterly wind towards our country homes so regularly that we not only closed the doors and windows, but we learnt to block off the edges of the windows and under the doors with Gladwrap and towels. Somehow a thin blanket of red dust gets embedded in between small spaces anyway, and it’s very gritty underfoot.

It was an interesting experience for visitors in the cities but quite common in the country. Today Queensland is back to perfect. Blue skies, clear air and no wind.