 |
Maximum (above) and minimum
(below) temperature departures from normal
today. BoM  |
 |
 Bushfires
continue in TAS
37 forest
fires continued to burn across TAS today, the worst in the state's northeast. Two
fires near Pioneer, 75km NE of Launceston, had consumed 4,200ha,
while another major blaze was burning near Royal George, 40km SW of St Marys. A
10 to 20ha fire at Dilston, just 10km north of Launceston, blew smoke across
the city during the afternoon before it was contained. Another fire at Mt Stronach
was sending embers across Scottsdale. Firefighters contained an 80ha blaze
at Liffey, while at Blackwood Creek, near Poatina, firefighters were working
to contain a 120ha blaze. Two big fires burning in the Mt William National
Park in the far northeast required firefighting reinforcements to be called
in from as far afield as Queenstown. Other fires at Pipers Brook, Waverley
and on Flinders Island were contained or controlled.
In the southeast, fires continued to burn at Murdunna north of Port Arthur,
Square Mountain and Levendale north of Sorell, and at Lanes
Tier north of Ouse.
 Widespread
storms in southern WA, central AUS
Convergence
caused by a surface trough combined with middle atmosphere instability
caused by cold upper air to produce storms and scattered heavy
rainfall totals across southern WA and in Central Australia. November
is normally a dry month in the Central West of WA, which is why Kalbarri,
130km north of Geraldton,
was able to record its wettest
November
day in 33
years of observations with a total of just 13.0mm. Perth, however, recorded
13mm in just half an hour before midnight this morning, and there were
other similarly heavy
falls around the coastal fringe from Carnarvon to Eucla and in the Goldfields.
An area of rain and storms produced some exceptionally heavy falls in
the region where the borders of WA, NT and SA meet. Giles Meteorological
Station
registered 57.8mm for the 24 hours to 9am, 31 falling in a storm early
yesterday evening and another 24 in a storm between 6 and 9 this morning.
Bulga Downs station, 160km WNW of Leonora, recorded its highest one-day
November total in 79 years with a reading of 27.4mm. Docker River, 200km
WNW of Yulara, recorded 58.6mm for the 24 hours. Hail to
golfball
size was reported from an aboriginal community in the area.
Afternoon thunderstorms caused minor tree damage in Ceduna SA, and brought
down trees and fences on a property near Pimbaacla, 75km ESE of the town.
Heat
builds up in western QLD, eastern SA
Temperatures
are rising in QLD and SA. The hot airmass that built up over
northern WA, then drifted south then east last
week, arrived in SW QLD yesterday. Temperatures there today were in
the low to mid 40s, with Birdsville recording a top of 44. Eastern SA
experienced a
hot day after a very warm night, with maxima generally in the high 30s,
though Price on the Yorke Peninsula managed 42°, 17.4 above average. Minimum
temperatures in the northeast were between 25 and 27°, 8 to 10 above
normal.
News sources: ABC, Examiner
|
