Cyclone Ului coverage labelled 'irresponsible'
A QUEENSLAND TV weatherman has delivered a blistering on-air attack against his media colleagues over their "irresponsible, unprofessional" coverage of Cyclone Ului.
WIN Television weather presenter Peter Byrne did not hold back when he introduced his North Queensland weather segment last night, accusing journalists of “scaremongering” in reports about the category four cyclone.
Pictures: Cairns' amazing weather
“With reference to Tropical Cyclone Ului, seldom have I heard such inaccurate, irresponsible, scaremongering journalism in my entire life, particularly over the last two to three days,” Mr Byrne said.
“The reports have been unprofessional and totally unwanted, to say the least.”
Tell us what you think. Do you think coverage of Cyclone Ului has been over the top? Post a comment.
The veteran presenter of 20 years, whose segments are broadcast in Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, Wide Bay and Toowoomba, told audiences “no warnings were current for Queensland and current estimates by the Bureau of Meteorology maintain the cyclone was well off the coast for the next several days.”
“So just relax,” Mr Byrne said.
Tropical Cyclone Ului is expected to near the Queensland coast on Friday and on the weekend, bringing rough seas and big swells.
The latest weather bureau update shows the system is about 1310km northeast of Mackay and 1420km east of Cooktown, moving west-southwest at about 5km/hr.
The bureau advises the cyclone currently poses no immediate threat to the Queensland coast and is expected to adopt a more south to south-easterly track tonight, which it should maintain until later in the week.
Share this article
Storm in a teacup: WIN weatherman Peter Byrne attacks the media's cyclone coverage.
On the radar: Cyclone Ului's predicted path. Source: Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu
Cyclone Ului grinds to a halt
UPDATE, March 16, 11pm: Cyclone Ului has ground to a halt over the Coral Sea east of Cooktown.
Cyclone Ului to reintensify to category 5
UPDATE, March 16, 5pm: Cyclone Ului is expected to intensify to a category five cyclone overnight as it continues to slowly move west-southwest over the northeast Coral Sea.
Cyclone Ului may close in on coast this weekend
UPDATE, March 16, 11am: Cyclone Ului is expected to close in on the Queensland coast on Friday and over the weekend, bringing rough seas and big swells.
Cyclone Ului remains offshore
UPDATE, March 16, 6am: Cyclone Ului has slowed and it is expected to remain a category four cyclone as it hovers offshore over the next 48 hours.
Cyclone Ului's eerie link to Larry
A CATEGORY 4 cyclone is stalking the Queensland coast just days before the fourth anniversary of cyclone Larry, but forecasters are not panicking.
