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Saturday 15 January 2000

Today's weather extremes

 Temperature extremes across southern Australia
Severe storm at Yulara NT 07May00

Highest rainfall, 24 hours to 9am

140.0 Deleta Station Laverton WA
133.0 Horn Is Qld
124.2 Channel Point NT
118.0 Monte Vista Ravensthorpe WA

Other high falls in WA:
105.6 Quaalup
83.8 Chesalon Ravensthorpe
83.5 Esperia Holt Rock
82.0 Truro Lake King WA
72.8 Coolgardie PO
71.0 Hopetoun North Ravensthorpe
69.6 Lake King PO
62.0 Hyden
62.0 Jerdacuttup Hopetoun
60.2 Hopetoun PO
60.0 Woodridge Estate GinGin
56.8 Kalgoorlie AP

Heatwave conditions continued in southern SA today for the sixth day in a row. A cool change which cooled Victoria and Tasmania failed to reach all but SA's southeast. A small bushfire was reported at Morphett Vale, an Adelaide suburb, while heat-related problems caused power blackouts across the city's northern suburbs for up to two hours. The large fire in Hambidge Conservation Area on the Eyre Peninsula is under control and being waterbombed by aircraft, and most national parks were closed because of fire danger today. Press reports indicate that more than 18 million stubbies of beer have been sold during the heatwave, with some hotels almost drunk dry.

It was a different picture in southwestern WA, where maximum temperatures today barely made it into the 20s, some 8 to 13° below average. The state's south is still under the influence of the cold airmass that swept through yesterday.

A thunderstorm related to the system that gave violent storms to WA yesterday produced high wind gusts at Yulara in southwestern NT today. A gust of 126km/h was measured as the storm passed through around 4.30pm. 10mm fell from the storm. Trees were felled, the runway covered with sand, and parked aircraft and power and security systems damaged in the storm.

Highest & Lowest Temps

Maximum Minimum
41.8 Mt Dare SA 28.8 Curtin Springs NT
15.6 Mt Wellington Tas 6.4 Charlotte Pass NSW

Greatest variations from normal

Maximum Minimum
+11.0
39.8 Whyalla Town SA		 +9.3
22.2 Keith SA
-11.5
19.4 Narrogin PO WA		 -6.5
15.1 Charleville AP Qld
-6.5
13.8 Tambo Qld
Other extreme readings
Rainfall:
Badgingarra WA
12.6mm in 10mins to 5.48pm
Balladonia WA
46mm in 6hrs to 3am
Dum-In-Mirrie NT
60mm in 6hrs to 9am
Pirlangimpi NT
52mm in 6hrs to 3am
Channel Point NT
117mm in 6hrs to 9am
Records set this day
Balladonia WA: Heaviest 24-hour rainfall on record for any month, 80.6mm breaking the previous record of 77.5 in 89 years record.

There are likely to be further records broken in southern WA by this rain event.

  • Times stated are the clock time in force in the relevant state or territory

  • Stories, including those in the archives, are as new and corrected information becomes available, with updates underlined

  • Australian Weather News gratefully acknowledges the Bureau of Meteorology as the collector and main source of meteorological data in Australia, along with the thousands of observers who record the weather and rainfall daily. I also thank Don White and the many contributors to the Aussie Weather mailing list who routinely provide much appreciated information.