9Aug00 |
| Rain for the 24 hours to 9am Friday, though most fell during the day and evening of Thursday |
Northern Tasmania bore the brunt of the weather, with downed trees, flooding in most northern rivers, highland snow and coastal gales all making news. In Devonport, a caravan caught fire after a tree was blown on to it, injuring a woman, while a fisherman is presumed lost after the wreckage of his boat was blown ashore on Low Head, north of Launceston, in 90km/h winds. Uprooted trees and torn branches combined with widespread flooding to make road travel difficult across the state's north. Police reported 25 roads and highways blocked, including the main Tasman Highway and the East and West Tamar Highways.
The heaviest rain fell in the northeast highlands, where the Beauty Flat Road gauge, 15km north of Fingal, recorded 123.4mm for the 24 hours to 9am Friday. Major flooding resulted late today and Friday in the middle and lower reaches of the North Esk River, with a peak of 3.2m at 6am Friday at Corra Linn, 10km SE of Launceston. Minor flooding occurred in the South Esk, Meander, Mersey and Forth Rivers, while flash flooding was reported in both the northeast and northwest from heavy showers and thunderstorms. Rainfall totals of between 50 and 100mm were recorded across the whole North Coast for the 24 hours to 9am Friday, while in the 3 days ended the same time, the Wildlife Nursery at Quamby Bluff south of Deloraine recorded 159.2mm, Diddleum, 30km NE of Launceston, reported 145.8 and Frankford, halfway between Launceston and Devonport, 133.2mm. Launceston Airport recorded its wettest July day on record, as did several other centres. Details are in the rainfall boxes for 21 June 2000. Several centimetres of snow fell across the Western Tiers and Central Plateau down to about the 800m level overnight into Friday, and Ben Lomond ski resort, 50km ESE of Launceston, received about 20cm of snow, kicking off the relatively short and variable Tasmanian ski season. Unfortunately, once again, the parched southeast missed most of the rain, though some useful falls were recorded in the Midlands.
In southeastern South Australia, squall lines associated with the developing surface trough gave wind gusts over 100km/h to many coastal places (see box below), bringing down trees, branches and powerlines, and causing brief heavy rain. Roads were blocked, power blacked out and a spate of traffic accidents resulted. Tornadoes tore through Woodchester, 45km SE of Adelaide, and Hatherleigh and Cape Jaffa, 45 and 140km northwest of Mount Gambier respectively. The most severe, at Hatherleigh, left a footprint 5km long by 100m wide along which winds to 200km/h were estimated by the Bureau of Meteorology, making the tornado a weak F2 category. Field bins were blown up to 1km, a large shed blown apart, and forests of pine trees snapped in half.