The BOM say the reason data from Middle Percy is not available is that the solar cells went out. Presumably on this basis it was batteries that were maintaining the readings. Although it strikes me as strange that data wasn't passed to a central computer rather than, as this explanation would suggest, being maintained on remote computers and made available centrally.

Hard to believe they have deliberately withdrawn the data to tamper with it, which is what the lack of data would support, if the above explanation isn't correct.

I'm not going to comment on the idiotic proposition that the scientists that are quoted always get it right and can't be questioned. On that theory Richard Millhouse Nixon would probably be in the Whitehouse because none of that Watergate thingy happened, because he said so. As a politician, who could be more qualified to know. Bernstein and Woodward were only journalists afterall.

Jesus wept!

Did you just compare those questioning whether cyclone Marcia should have been called a Category 3 or 5 to Woodward and Bernstein?

Wow.

RObert, & others interested in the facts, Jennifer now has the missing figures for Middle Percy up on her website, for all to see.

Perhaps the BOM will go & find out what actually happened, as if they didn't know.

Graham, you are far too generous.

I was interested in the hype surrounding Marcia reporting, particularly the expected 3 metre storm surge that suddenly came out of nowhere. Three metres would be devastating and cat 5 cyclones can create a big storm surge. But while the predictions were climbing to 3 metres, anyone could look at a live readout of the storm tide gauge at Rosslyn Bay to see what was really happening.

Not many did because it was plain to see that the tide was tracking only a little above the normal predicted level. The much hyped 3 metres was actually about 0.4 metres. I’d like to hear an explanation of why the predictions climbed so far so suddenly. Seems they used the same arithmetic for Marcia’s strength.

Here’s a screen shot I made of the storm tide gauge.
http://abovephotos.smugmug.com/Other/Forum-images/n-gGmPD/i-gPnMHR9/A

Remember when the Italians held the seismologists liable for failing to predict an earthquake? Can you blame scientist for getting cautions?

Too low, they get sued. Too hight, people bitch about it. God help you is you get it wrong. God help you if what people are demmanding is basically beyond human power to achieve.

Here's a thought: why not give the seismologists and the meteorologists the benefit of the doubt? Why not assume that they honestly care about their work, that they are full aware of the consequences of what they do, that they are not malicious or full of poo, and leave them to it?