Blizz

Hi Everyone, We have had some very significant weather on the east coast of NSW of late. A number of East Coast Lows have brought rain, flooding and snow. Below are some of the pics from snow in recent weeks in my area. We have had some very nice snowfalls so far this winter. For a place that is known for its heat, people can sometimes forget that very good snowfalls do occur at times. None of my images are from the ski-fields but rather well north in typically warmer climes. Blizz http://www.blackheathweather.com/picture2007a.html http://www.blackheathweather.com/picture2007b.html http://www.blackheathweather.com/picture2007c.html My main page (reports, map details etc) http://www.blackheathweather.com/

Looks like Perth near the tip of Western Australia could be the next to cop an unseasonably cold outbreak just a few days after new years. The weird weather looks to continue.

No, you didn't post the BoM forecast above. I know your posting style and that is definitely your writing.

I think that is overstating it mate. I've just run an animation on GFS and whilst LI's are potentially in the 0 to -4 range (and maybe fractionally higher) over this period and CAPE is in the 800 to 1400 range, your figures are over the top. Sorry, but its important to accurately render forecasts or at least do the best you can champ. ;-)

Not quite normal for mid teens weather for Melbourne in late December. Sure, high teens and low twenties will come with cool changes but mid teens is not common. One of the things I was reminded of the other day is that whilst the large bay around Melbourne (Port Phillip Bay) tends to weaken the effects of cold outbreaks in Melbourne in winter, it tends to strenghen them in summer as the bay really warms up in summer, aiding convective activity etc during cold changes. ski.com.au forum in Oz has had some ripper pics of the snow here on Mt Baw Baw. These from 'Kahanamoku' are beauties. http://davins.homelinux.net/downloads/Dec26/IMG_0020.jpg http://davins.homelinux.net/downloads/Dec26/IMG_0008.jpg http://davins.homelinux.net/downloads/Dec26/IMG_0009.jpg http://davins.homelinux.net/downloads/Dec26/IMG_0011.jpg http://davins.homelinux.net/downloads/Dec26/IMG_0027.jpg You Tube footage from Kahanamoku: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvU14W7182c

Yeah, I do remember you actually. Amazing event indeed this one. Then again, our drought has been amazing too and the last ski season was amazing for producing very little.

http://www.ski.com.au/snowcams/lakemtn2.html Yes, very impressive outbreak for summer. Sure, we do get snow perhaps a couple of times or so a decade in December in higher reaches but for there still to be snow on this link above and still -1C the next morning is impressive. BTW Filski, I'm a Weather Commentator over at ski.com.au and am known as 'Blackheath' over there.

Well, its snowing in parts of southern Australia today. Click on the cams below to see the snow. State of Victoria, north of Melbourne: http://www.ski.com.au/snowcams/lakemtn2.html Tasmania cam - should be snow on the mountains later http://www.rosebay.tased.edu.au/camera.htm And my town will stay cool all day and probably not get over 11 or 12C. Not bad for summer in Oz! More photos from a climatologist in Oz from the weather bureau, who is also a mad keen snow lover. http://www.flickr.com/photos/72584009@N00 More photos from another aussie cold weather lover: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amancalledsue/?saved=1 Of course, it is a combination of hail, sleet and snow in the various photos here but quite amazing for a subtropical climate in summer. Melbourne could have its coldest Christmas day in over 70 years. And this follows an amazing cold outbreak in November for the SE of Oz. We are all hoping for a good snow season in 2007 which seems a reasonable chance with the possibility of the drought breaking in autumn/winter.

Yeah, it wont be quite as cold on Boxing Day for the test match but there could be some rain around in the morning. Still, its going to be a chilly Christmas day down south around Melbourne. There should be some nice snowfalls across the ranges, just north of Melbourne. It has been an extraordinary year over here. We are in the grip of a terrible drought and my town saw only two light snowfalls in winter but then it snowed north of my place in November! Indeed it was cold enough to snow here at the same time but moisture was limited. And now we are having a decent cold outbreak in Oz in December, pretty crazy stuff.

Looks like southern Australia could be experiencing some snow for Christmas day. Tasmania looks to have snow across the highlands and maybe even the state of Victoria further to the north could see snow across the ski fields. Leading up to Christmas this week we have a slow moving trough that should bring some welcome rain to Victoria, NSW and QLD as it interacts with available moisture. Then a surface low should form off the south east coast of Australia by about Sunday and will generate chilly winds and colder air into Christmas day as it interacts with a ridging high pressure system behind it. Not bad for the middle of summer over here to be getting a cold front that will bring some snow! :lol: Below are some free Australian forecasting links from my site to help those that are interested in our weather. The third link, the Weatherzone one, is probably the best to get a quick glance at the GFS charts and also locally produced charts for our area. My forecasting links: http://www.blackheathweather.com/forecast.html The BoM link to their free forecasting material in Oz: http://www.bom.gov.au/nmoc/NWP.shtml Weatherzone free material - good daily charts (more if you register): http://www.weatherzone.com.au/ Merry Christmas to all! Blizz Storm Spotter and webmaster of blackheathweather.com PS: Supercell Hunters is an enthusiastic young man that is new to the dynamics of Australian weather. He used to be on Weatherzone forums in Australia where I am a moderator. If I can respectfully say, SH is still learning how to report storms and other weather events accurately.

Yeah, we are not too worried about this system at this stage for the coast of Oz. Further south in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney we have been picking up showers for most of the week thanks to the lingering moisture and pressure gradients that have devoloped. Its been in the 13C to 16C range at my spot for most of this week for maxs and mins around 11C.

Commentary and photos here on the damage in Innisfail. http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/swf/pictures.html http://abc.net.au/backyard/features/slides...d=1595780&num=1 Damage could be up to one billion dollars.

Yes, the pictures we are getting this morning with all of the television crews that are there look pretty bad. Lots of damage. All Banana crops and sugar can crops are completely gone, power could be out for weeks and sewer and water supply are pretty much down too. A lot of damage in the town - probably more than first thought. The place basically looks shredded.

This report just in from the Sydney Morning Herald in Australia: http://www.smh.com.au/ "One in three houses have lost their roofs and several people have been hurt in the coastal town where Tropical Cyclone Larry made landfall. More than half of the houses and buildings in the small town of Innisfail, about 100km south of Cairns, suffered major damage when the category five storm hit about 4am, said Sergeant Gary Burkin of Innisfail police. The cyclone has now been downgraded to level three. "There's some buildings that have totally collapsed," Sergeant Burkin said. "It's greater than 50 per cent [damage] for housing and buildings." About a third of houses had lost their roofs, said Queensland Counter Disaster and Rescue Services (CDRS) executive director Frank Pagano. Only four residents of Innisfail - which has a population of about 8000 - are believed to have sustained minor injuries, Cairns Police Chief Superintendent Mike Keating said."

Nah, that's just the way we talk over here. Sort of understated when in reality the fella was probably scared to death! Reports thus far are fragmented but it sounds like some nasty damage indeed up north. Some of the calls to local TV stations down here near Sydney have been harrowing. Its still maybe an hour or two before rescue can get into the town in any numbers.

Thanks for the all of the reports folk, its great to know how its going over there as we are still three months or so away from our snow season. Aberdeen sounds like where I should be! Blizz http://home.vicnet.net.au/~bmstorms/welcome.htm

Looks to be snowing nicely now in Aberdeen. Around -2C there apparently and looks to be a cm or two that has settled at the moment. http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/acc/images/...egate_00001.jpg

Thanks folk for an informative forum. I'm a moderator for a large weather forum in Oz with a love of snow and storms. My town at 1085m above sea level gets about three or four snowfalls per winter, bit less in a bad season and a bit more than that in a good one. One thing though re this net-weather site is that it has so many topics that its hard to navigate. We have a fraction of the amount of topics that you folk have and it seems to be a lot easier to move around. Anyway, horses for courses and thanks for all your efforts in running this forum, I know what that is like! Blizz My Winter 2005: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~bmstorms/picture2005a.htm My main site: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~bmstorms/welcome.htm

Thanks everyone for these reports of your cold outbreak. Great stuff for this aussie melting in temps above 30C at the moment. Kent seems to be getting just about the best falls? Blizz - my aussie town gets about three or four snowfalls a year. Winter 2005: http://home.vicnet.net.au/~bmstorms/picture2005a.htm