I have lived in the tropics of Australia for the past 4 years with nary a thunderstorm or any threat of a cyclone. Until today…we are getting us a cyclone, Jasper, last modelled at Cat 1 (originally a Cat 3 out in the Coral Sea) but MIGHT recharge into a Cat 2 by landfall tomorrow night,
I iz excoited, bring it on Jasper 
Nea but a tiddler … a practice drill mayhaps.
But follow the directions of authorities and stay safe.
A century ago, “cyclone” was used in North America to mean a tornado. I think in the original Wizard of Oz book, it’s a cyclone that carries Dorothy to Oz.
Have fun and stay safe, kambuckta.
Good luck.
Have flashlights, extra water and foods that don’t need refrigeration. Charge up devices early.
Stay safe.
From: Tornado Alley denizen, beck.
We’re ready, hopefully. Landfall is now due around midday tomorrow as a Cat 2 after intensifying in the last 12 hours. The BOM (bureau of meteorology) here is not quite sure where it will hit, but all indications are that the cyclone will land within app 50 to 100km of where I live, Or maybe right on top of me!
We have enough food to last the climatic armageddon, we have both potable and extra water for flushing toilets and for the pets, We have charged every device in the household, we have water-proofed our garage on the lower level. We have a gas bbq plus a little gas butane cooker for early morning coffee. We have a massive esky that keeps stuff cold for a WEEK with ice (supermarket across the road to buy said ice once the initial storm has passed, frozen bottles in the interim), so, to be honest, unless this thing turns into one of those massive storms that you see on YouTube movies, we’ll be fine.
I moved up here to Cairns app 4 years ago. And since then, despite dire predictions from family and friends of awful weather, floods, storms and of course cyclones, none of the above has really happened. I think I remember ONE thunderstorm in the previous 4 years, certainly none in the last two. No cyclones, yeah, the roads get flooded for 10 minutes because the sheer volume of rain coming down but the drains eventually cope.
Funny story though, yesterday we had tree-fellers come into the apartment complex, downed 3 BIG trees and have left the chip-mulch from the trees in our front garden. Which will bear the brunt of the cyclone when it descends. I hate to imagine where the mulch will end up, there’s around 6 cubic metres of the stuff! 
Oooh, it’s just on 7pm here in Aus, and the sky has suddenly gone pink and purple. It’s starting to happen.
Well, it happened, Wednesday late afternoon the wind started getting wild, and the rain came pelting down. In all, from 9am Wed to around 12pm Thursday, the cyclone dumped between 350 and 650mm of rain upon the Cape York Peninsula. My town copped about 400mm, and yes, it was (and still is) a bit damp.
It’s still raining, but overall there was little damage from the cyclone. A few downed trees, there’s lots of flooding but I believe only one property has been inundated (the residential bit anyway). We lost power Wed afternoon, but it was restored by lunchtime yesterday (Thur), long enough to have us getting ready to move all the food from freezers and fridges to a large ice-chest, but thankfully it wasn’t needed in the end.
So I survived my first cyclone. And to be honest, I really don’t think I’d like to go through one Cat 3 and above. Our apartment is solid, but sheesh, we’re still mopping water off the balcony!
Aaaand still mopping. Whilst the cyclone itself was a bit of a ‘meh’ event, it hasn’t stopped raining torrentially since Wednesday. Much of Cairns and north to the Daintree, and inland to the Atherton Tablelands is under water. Our ‘local’ river, the Barron, has broken its banks on the only two access roads into and out of Cairns.
Early yesterday only ONE of the highways was closed to traffic, so I snuck into Cairns to buy a clothes dryer. The washed clothes were smelling pretty gross hanging around the house and because of the 199% humidity :P, I bit the bullet and bought one. It has been running 24/7 since then, out on our covered balcony.
So anyway, apparently this is a once-in-forever flood for up here in FNQ. Or once in 50 years, or once in 30 years, depending upon which local you speak to, or which television station is trying to ramp up the hysteria. Regardless, whilst it’s a pain in the arse, we’re all safe and the rain is expected to subside a bit tomorrow.
And THEN I will do a final sluice and mop of our balcony.
This is definitely correct; I specifically remember it. There was also a Coney Island strongman “Cyclone Louie” in the early 1910s, so the word did carry the connotation of great power on a local level, like a tornado.
And on top of all that … Raft Building Fire Ants !!