a. archaic: severe in temperament or action (unmerciful)
b. physically severe (stormy)
That pretty much sums up Brisbane at the moment as we're in the floods heralded as the worst in history (even for those golden oldies that were around for the floods of '74).
Brisbane itself hasn't had major flooding of any infrastructure; the rivers are swollen, the creeks and brooks are lapping at houses and the roads and trails are damn unsafe to ride on. But the worst hit is up north...though it's steadily moving south and expected to hit Brisvegas today, with flash flooding (ie: ten minutes ago as I was bucketing water out of our bathroom in my underwear, feeling like a viking in a sinking ship) mixing with Wivenhoe dam release.
If I was an indoor person (and the house didn't have giant holes in it), this weather would not phase me. However, with nationals coming up it's a pain in the butt! I suffer from severe cabin fever, and the longest ride I have had in the past week or so is three hours—on the trainer. Which is slowly wearing away at my mental resolve and certainly not helping me ride up or down hills faster.
Having been on prac, in any dry patches where I could be riding, my usual position is in the back of a truck, at the hospital, or reading about sepsis at the station. Which is fine—i'm loving prac. But also rather worried about that little race in February...