|
 Severe
storms in Melbourne and NE VIC
A
trough followed a few hours behind by a cold front bounded an active
thunderstorm
zone that crossed central
and
northeastern
VIC early
this
afternoon causing widespread but brief torrential
rain, flash flooding and extensive though moderate wind damage.
The
airmass in which the storms generated was the same as the one that
has spawned heavy rain events and thunderstorms over the past few
days from Central Australia to western VIC. There were high levels
of moisture from the surface to around 10km, and the morning balloon
traces from Melbourne showed instability through the same depth,
though rates of vertical ascent in the cloudmass today were somewhat
less than they have been over previous days.
A feature of these storms, which helped to moderate their effects,
was their rapid movement. This seems to have been more as a result
of cells propagating southeast along the frontal zone than the speed
of the front itself, which was eastwards at about 40km/h. The first
signs of storms on Melbourne radar was at noon around Ballarat, yet
they arrived in Melbourne CBD around 12.40pm
and Wonthaggi about 1.20pm, giving a southeast propagation speed
of approximately 140km/h. The leading edge of developing cells in
the northeastern complex was north and west of Deniliquin at
noon, yet had covered 250km to be around Bright by 2pm, an average
speed of 125km/h. Falls of 30mm in the storms were common, with Boho,
13km SE of Violet Town, recording 69.8mm in the 24 hours to 9am Friday,
of which 48mm fell in the hour to 10pm. Myrrhee, 40km SE of Benalla,
registered 49.8 in the 24 hours to 9am
Friday. Details of other heavy falls are below.
The Melbourne storms flooded three shopping
centres, brought trains to a halt and caused dozens of
traffic accidents. The rain was most
intense in southeastern suburbs, with flash flooding reported
from Hampton, Dandenong, Springvale, Pakenham, Knoxfield,
Chelsea, Frankston and Keysborough.
The SES and Metropolitan Fire Brigade attended over 100
calls, while
there
was significant water damage in Dandenong Plaza, Narre Warren's
Fountain Gate and Keysborough's Parkmore shopping
centres. In Pakenham, the library, Centrelink, Safeway, Coles
and a real estate agency received building damage when
an estimated 35mm fell in half an hour.
A power surge blacked out signals, stopping
trains on the Ringwood line.
In northeastern VIC, Wodonga was worst
hit with structural and roof damage to about 50 buildings,
flash
flooding and widespread tree
damage and uprootings. Wind gusted to 95km/h at Albury
Airport at 2.56pm. Wodonga SES had 80 calls for help. The
City Council's
Manager estimated
the
work
of clearing
trees and
branches would take 3 weeks and cost $80,000 to $100,000.
Damage was also reported from Mt Beauty to the southeast,
where a supermarked
was flooded, and from Tatura SW of Shepparton
and
Yarroweyah
S of
Tocumwal. Large hail was reported at Myrtleford and wind
gusts of 91km/h at Wangaratta and 85 at Rutherglen. Hail
to 2cm diameter was reported at Wilby, 15km S of Yarrawonga.
Wind caused tree damage and 25mm of rain fell in 30 minutes
at Numurkah, 30km N of Shepparton. Building damage was reported
in Cudgewa, 15km W of Corryong.
Lightning sparked 10 bushfires in East Gippsland during the
afternoon, all of which had been brought under control by late
Friday morning.
 Storms
cut power
in N TAS, W NSW
A
storm that remained nearly stationary between Launceston and
Oatlands TAS during the early evening blacked out around
2,000 homes in Conara, Campbell Town, Oatlands, Jerico and Macquarie
Plains for 3 hours after lightning struck a transformer around
7.30pm. 50.4mm was recorded in the 24 hours to 9am Friday, mostly
from the storm, at Campbell Town where students at the high school
had Friday
off
when
it was closed for the day by electrical
problems
and
flooding.
A line of storms in western NSW later afternoon cut
power to Wilcannia, White Cliffs and Menindee around 5pm. Power
had still not been restored late the following morning.
 |
Maximum (above) and
minimum (below) temperature departures from
normal today. BoM  |
 |
Heat
continues in
NE NSW, S QLD
High
temperatures continued in the NE half of NSW and across S
QLD both
by night and by day. Quilpie's top of 44.5 was the town's
hottest November day in 46 years. Longreach, Winton and Windorah
all recorded
maxima of 44 or above. For many western QLD residents, it
was the seventh consecutive day of 40°+ heat. Overnight
temperatures west of the Divide in NSW and southern QLD were
10
to 13 above
average,
with
readings
of 25 to 30° the norm. Birdsville, with a temperature
of 35 at 2.30am looked like setting a new November high minimum
temperature
record when a downdraft from a nearby thunderstorm dropped
the temperature by 5°. Isisford, Boulia, Quilpie and
Ballera Gas Field all reported minima or 30° or above,
which are rare events south of the tropics. Isisford's overnight
low of 30.4 was its highest in 45 years of records.
Rare
sea fog blankets
coastal Sydney
Sea
fog enveloped Sydney's beach suburbs from La Perouse
to Pittwater this morning, reducing visibility to between
50 and 100m.
The result of warm, very humid air moving across cold water,
sea fog is a relative rarity in Sydney. The fog area extended
north
to Norah Head on the Central Coast, where it cleared at 12.45pm.
It lasted over 10 hours in some places.
Bushfires
continue
in TAS and on NSW Mid North Coast
Two
large fires 10km apart continue to burn out of control in the Arthur-Pieman
Conservation Area of NW TAS. One south of the Arthur River
has burnt through 15,000ha, while a second near the coast between
Temma and Balfour has consumed 9,000ha. Tasmania Fire Service,
Parks and Wildlife, and Forestry Tasmania firefighters have been
working in difficult terrain to stop the fire jumping the Pieman
River and gaining access to southern forests. The fires are believed
to have been started by lightning last Saturday. Forest fires in
NE TAS are mostly under control, but have burnt through
1500ha
of prime regenerated forests and 10ha of plantations worth an estimated
$7m to $8m.
A
bushfire that started in hot gusty winds on Sunday has
burnt through hundreds of hectares of the Comboyne-Kerewong State
Forest northwest of Taree NSW. The fire was partly contained today,
but continues to burn as a 2.5km backburn operation attempts to
bring it under control.
News sources: News.com, ABC, Border Mail, Herald Sun, AAP, The
Age, Courier-Mail, Examiner, Pakenham Gazette |
