Ngarnak-wayarn - The rain bird is visting

Black-faced cuckoo shrike(source:wikipedia)

Kalokwen was how Edney Hassell wrote it down, ngarnak (beard) - wayarn (fearful ) - was how Carl von Brandenstein translated the name of this bird. It always appears in the south west when rain is in the offing and it appeared here today.

Satellite image for 30 Dec 2006 0900UTC(copyright:Eumetstat 2006)

In Sumatra and across the archipelago the monsoon is setting records. The whole region is covered in clouds. The ITCZ(Intertropical Convergence Zone) has extended to cover 20 degrees of latitude in monsoon clouds this year. The current Eutmestat satellite image of the Indian Ocean shows the first cyclone of the year forming over near Madagascar . A couple of days ago there was a band of cloud stretching all the way across from Indonesia. There were dramatic 'tropical instabilities' occurring - areas 100 miles across were exploding with thunderstorms. But now the wind has started to shift and the ITCZ is acquiring angular momentum . The cyclone near Madagascar has not got a name yet and is but a few hours old - and it's very big.