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Maximum (above) and
minimum (below) temperature departures from
normal today. BoM  |
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 Heatwave
conditions spread in eastern AUS as TAS fires continue
High
temperatures spread from SA and SW QLD across VIC, TAS, and much
of NSW and QLD with daytime temperatures generally 8 to
16° above normal. Windorah Post Office's top of 46.0 set a
new November record for the town, while Boulia Airport's 32° minimum
was an uncomfortable 11 above average. In TAS, 500 firefighters
continue to battle bushfires that have consumed 36,000ha since
last Saturday.
 Severe
storms in SA, VIC with possible tornado
Severe
thunderstorms crossed SE SA and western VIC this afternoon
and evening, with one storm and a possible tornado west
of Mildura causing over $1m in damage.
The high instability and deep moisture levels that have produced
severe storms and heavy rain over Central Australia
and
northern
SA over the past few days moved
southeast
into the region this afternoon. In addition, multiple lows developed
in western VIC late afternoon as a complex trough/frontal system
crossed
the SE SA coast, adding to the convergence and uplift
occurring in the system.
The most damaging storm cut a 35km long, 5km wide, swathe from near
the SA/VIC border to the small town of Lake Cullulleraine, 50km west
of Mildura VIC. Hail, rain and wind shredded vineyards and over 20,000
hectares of cereal crops during the two-hour storm, leading Elders'
Mildura insurance manager, Peter Wise, to tell ABC News that "it
just looks
like they've
been through a harvester already. There's just nothing left
at all - nothing salvageable from what we've seen so far." He estimated
there would be at least 50 claims for crop damage totalling $1m.
The damage on one uninsured 30 hectare melon farm is put
at $500,000.
The storm hit Lake Cullulleraine at 5.30pm, lasting 30 minutes and
unroofing the town's store and several houses, destroying the yacht
club, overturning
caravans, damaging 12 houses and other buildings and uprooting trees.
Hail the diameter of 20c pieces fell, and a brick wall at the community
centre
was
blown over.
Elsewhere in VIC
- In Mildura, homes and trees were damaged as
the city was clipped by the edge of the Lake Cullulleraine storm
around
7pm.
- At Portland, flash flooding entered several
shops and a cafe in Percy Street, one of the town's main streets,
causing
at least $10,000 in damage in an electrical store. In Tyers Street,
over $200,000 worth of stock was destroyed when the
whole floor area of a furniture warehouse was flooded. Marble sized
hail was reported with the storm, but in the Cashmore, Heathmere
and Westlakes Road areas it reached sizes larger than golf balls.
One hail stone in Cashmore was measured at 7.5cm diameter. Damage
was reported due to the hail, or hail blocking drains and downpipes.
Cashmore Airport AWS recorded 14mm during the storm, but 7.6mm
fell in 4 minutes to 8.01pm
- Warrnambool SES had 28 calls for help in 10
minutes, most from people with blocked gutters who had rain and
hail spilling
through the eaves and into their homes. $10,000 in electrical stock
was damaged due to a roof leak in one shop, while a book shop and
restaurant were also flooded. Wind gusted to 91km/h at the airport
at 8.50pm.
- Power blackouts occurred in and around Ballarat soon
after midday, cutting power to 4,400 homes. Around Warrnambool,
ligntning strikes to powerlines blacked out
1065 properties around Koroit from
8.30pm
and
1,985
around
Terang from 11.30pm.
- Scrub fires started by lightning around 10.30pm at Galaquil,
30km north of Warracknabeal, burnt through 10ha
of scrub.
- After a muggy evening, with the temperature still 30° at
11pm, Melbourne's southeastern suburbs experienced
flash flooding from a late evening storm.
In SA:
- Near Hatherleigh, 60km NW of Mt Gambier, two
trucks, one a B-double, rolled over within a kilometre of
one another on
the Princes Highway in heavy rain, hail and wind during a
storm, closing the highway for nearly 24 hours. Winds were
strong enough to uproot or snap dozens of pine trees in the
area, and cause widespread damage to trees, sheds, silos
and irrigation equipment. Hail up to 4 to 6cm diameter was
reported. Mt Gambier received two bursts of heavy rain, 11.2mm
in the hour
to 9pm
and 11.4mm
in the hour to 11pm. Wind gusted to 100km/h at Coonawarra,
91 at Cape
Jaffa and 87 at Robe during the early evening.
- On the Yorke Peninsula, 5 minutes of hail up
to 4cm diameter around 4.30pm destroyed crops and caused property
damage at Dowlingville, 20km ENE of Maitland. Hail damage was also
reported to the south of Kulpara,
north of Arthurton, and near Port Wakefield
and
Brinkworth, all to the northeast of Maitland.
- 3cm diameter hail was reported from the southern Adelaide
suburbs of Hallett Cove, Morphett Vale and Woodcroft.
- Powerlines were brought down between Loxton and Alawoona possibly
by the developing Lake Cullulleraine storm, blacking
out northern Mallee towns and isolated properties in the Mallee
and
Riverland
for up to 24 hours.
- Wind gusted to 115km/h at Woomera around
4pm, and 106 at Yunta and 104 at Marree during
the early evening. Across the border in southern NT, Kulgera experienced
an afternoon thunderstorm that produced wind gusts to 109km/h
and a heavy dust storm.
A detailed report of events in western VIC is available from StormPlanet.
News sources: ABC, AAP, Courier (Ballarat), Warrnambool Standard,
Herald Sun, Portland Observer, Yorke Peninsula News, Wimmera
Mail-Times, The Age, Bendigo Advertiser, Mercury
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