Australian Weather - Summer 2009

[opplevelse]

I find myself in Melbourne Australia for the moment, and well ... it has been "interesting"

Melbourne temps over the last few days have been just silly hot....

Tuesday 36.4

Wed 43.4

Thursday 44.3

Friday 45.1

Power outages and public transport has all but melted down ... Melbourne is normally hot in summer, but not normally this hot ...

This is a current graph. It will update and only takes readings every hour (hence it missed the max of 45.1C)

[J10]

A bit warmer than Norway then.

[opplevelse]

A bit warmer than Norway then.

Only a little ... out of the frying pan into the fire ...

[J07]

It's a record breaking heatwave, both for temperatures and persistence of high temperatures.

Some horror stats: Adelaides overnight low of 34C, which went into a day where it exceeded 40C at 10AM! Funnily enough, a fair bit of this air has made it over to New Zealand. Napier hit 30C at 9:20AM this morning, and has exceeded 34C at 10AM. Not quite Adelaide standards but still hot enough, thanks.

It's all down to that high in the Tasman. Been stationary for days. It is normal for it to be there in summer but not to stay still all that long. I would advise UK readers to think of it as like the Azores High - same latitude, same persistence. It's kept SE Aussie on the warm northerly side of things, and New Zealand has also pulled off some reasonable temperatures from it (36C in Culverden yesterday), though there's a punishing southerly change working up today.

Bushfires in Victoria claimed up to 10 homes yesterday as the state sweltered through a third consecutive day of overwhelming temperatures and endured a massive power blackout.

The State Government said last night it was ready to invoke emergency powers to "protect Victorian households". This would impose severe power restrictions across Victoria to balance supply.

"The assessment of whether emergency powers are required will be made early tomorrow," a Government spokesman said.

It is believed that 10 properties were lost in the outskirts of the tiny township of Boolarra, in the state's south-east, from bushfires that have already blackened 3200 hectares. Gippsland Water has warned residents to boil drinking water from the town's supply.

Firefighters were last night battling the twin blazes that have threatened the neighbouring towns of Delburn and Darlimurla for two days. Residents of Yinnar were also warned they should be prepared to come under direct threat from the fire as it was too late to leave their homes.

Elsewhere, as Melbourne experienced its worst heatwave on record, there was a fire in suburban bushland and faults cut two high-voltage transmission lines near South Morang. Power was cut to areas from Southbank to as far west as Geelong from about 6.25pm.

Almost 500,000 households and buildings lost power after the nation's power wholesaler instructed power distributors Powercor and Citipower to cut supply. By 10pm electricity had been restored to all but 100,000. Traffic lights, train lines and elevators were stilled in the city and western suburbs.

Crown Casino, including its restaurants and hotels, was evacuated — via stairs. Some of its phone lines were down. A Melbourne Symphony Orchestra concert featuring Roberta Flack was rescheduled.

Paul Bird, a spokesman for the national wholesaler, National Electricity Market Management Company, said the faults happened between South Morang and Sydenham, and South Morang and Keilor causing Victoria to lose nearly 10 per cent of its total power supply. Until the latter is repaired there will be no back-up if a similar fault occurs through bushfires or equipment failure, says the Government. Local outages may still occur.

A Citipower spokesman said hospitals and transport were its priority. It had redirected its remaining power to supply them.

"We have been allowed to start to address some of the critical services," he said. "The Docklands area … is off supply so we are trying to get some supply out there to some of our taller buildings for lifts."

Also contributing to the power shortages was the Basslink cable — which links the Tasmanian and Victorian electricity systems. It was shut down at 1.40pm yesterday because of "system supply issues".

Basslink chief executive Malcolm Eccles said the interconnector did not trip or fail, but had worked according to its pre-set parameters.

As temperatures in Tasmania soared above 35 degrees yesterday, the NEMMCO directed power be cut to Jemena, United Energy Distribution and SP Ausnet customers for one-hour rotations from 3.15pm, resulting in further power cuts for more than 47,000 houses.

Manj Senn, of Mount Waverley, had her power cut from 7pm on Thursday. She was considering booking into a hotel, such was the discomfort of the heat in her home.

"I expect to be fully compensated for the power loss and the cost of my hotel tonight," she said. Mr Bird said demand for electricity yesterday was similar to Thursday, which reached 10,400 megawatts.

In Gippsland, Margaret Brooks of Darlimurla was among dozens who had fled the fires. They gathered in a makeshift refuge centre at Churchill, 18 kilometres from Boolarra.

Ms Brooks left her 4.9-hectare property on Thursday night. "We were getting spot fires from embers through the paddocks," she said.

Eleven water bombing helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft were flown in to battle the fires in Gippsland, along with 11 trucks and 300 personnel. But despite their efforts, fire authorities said they feared a wind change last night could merge the two bushfires, creating a massive blaze that would consume the Strzelecki Ranges.

Five Gippsland schools will be closed on Monday because of the fires.

DSE deputy incident controller Ben Rankin told ABC radio he was suspicious that at least part of the fire had been deliberately lit. Police yesterday questioned two young men from the area. They were released without charge.

The mercury in Melbourne hit 45.1 degrees yesterday afternoon — the first time temperatures had soared above 43 degrees for three consecutive days since records began in 1855. The city reached its maximum at 4.27pm, as thousands of Melburnians continued to flood beaches, cinemas and shopping centres in efforts to remain cool.

The heat set a record for the city after three days of broiling conditions: 43.4 degrees on Wednesday, 44.3 on Thursday and 45.1 yesterday.

Temperatures are expected to drop for the weekend, with a forecast top of 35 degrees today, 33 tomorrow and 34 on Monday.

Demand for emergency assistance leapt 50 per cent. An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said 50 new paramedic graduates had been called on to the job to help out.

The service attended 105 heat-related cases in Melbourne between midnight Thursday and 6pm yesterday.

Meanwhile, a blaze in Melbourne's outer south-eastern suburbs came within 50 metres of homes yesterday and consumed about 40 hectares of parkland. The fire started in the Churchill National Park, between Endeavour Hills, Dandenong North and Rowville, after a car crashed and caught fire.

Flames from the burning wreck set roadside scrub alight and quickly spread to consume the Dandenong Police Paddocks Reserve. The fire threatened to cut off power supply to a large part of Melbourne because of transmission towers crossing the reserve.

With DANIELLA MILETIC, JULIA MEDEW, ERDEM KOCH and AAP

[Thundersquall]

opplevelse - did it thunder in Melbourne after the maximum plummeted from +44C to +27C?

Edited January 31, 2009 by Thundersquall

[opplevelse]

opplevelse - did it thunder in Melbourne after the maximum plummeted from +44C to +27C?

No, not enough moisture for any serious convection. Very low humidities, which provided some relief for us humans, but provided appalling fire conditions . I was involved in fighting the 2003 alpine fires here in Victoria which burnt over 1.5million hectares of land ... that was huge, and the humidites then were higher than they have been recently.

[cj114]

Have had an email from my Cousin in Melbourne. She said it was quite cool yesterday at 37c!!

As well as the nearby bushfires in the Park, she says the train tracks have buckled too. Loads of power cuts. Must be awful.

She would rather be here with us and the forthcoming Snow! Yep, for around 10 mins I suspect. lol

Seriously though, a lot of old people are dying, in the same way as in Europe in '03. And Aus had it Hot then too.

[Thundersquall]

This is a current graph. It will update and only takes readings every hour (hence it missed the max of 45.1C)

Just noticed the temperature plummeted greatly (can't think of the exact opposite word for skyrocketed)

by about 7C in (less than?) an hour on the last 44C day.

Edited February 1, 2009 by Thundersquall

[cj114]

Just noticed the temperature plummeted greatly (can't think of the exact opposite word for skyrocketed)

by about 7C in (less than?) an hour on the last 44C day.

Yup, that ties in to what my Cousin said. But she did say it was more bearable. Although the inside of her house even with air con, still did not feel any cooler. It takes time for Houses to cool. As we remember, from when WE had summers.

She is 50 and born and bred there, but has never known heat like that before, nor would she like to see it again.

The elderly are more at risk, as they don't seem to have the "drink more" side of the brain any longer. When my Mother in Law came over to us 3yrs ago, in a heatwave, from Ireland, she could not understand why I kept asking her to drink. She didn't feel thirsty. But felt ill, but after a lot of nagging did drink more water and felt better.

Dehydration can be a killer when you get old!

[opplevelse]

It was actually an 8C temp drop in as many minutes. That is not unusual for Melbourne, and days in the 40's is not unusual either during Summer. What is unusual is having 3 days of it in a row, and something like 5 consecutive days above 35C.

Melbourne is renowned for having "4 seasons in one day" and when the cool change comes through it hits with a vengeance. The Northerly picks up ahead of the front and then the temp plummets as the wind rapidly swings around to a southerly or southwesterly.

This is the temp and wind direction for that day

http://www.weatherzone.com.au/station.jsp?...p;dt=30/01/2009

A lady next door to where I am staying was found unconcious and rushed to hospital, we actually moved our 5 month old to my inlaws house which had better aircon.

It is now a very muggy 34C at 4:30pm with a humid around 40-50% ... it is almost worse than the 45C! I was in Perth earlier in the week that was slightly more bareable.

I'll update the graphing script so it shows the last week instead of the last 3 days

[opplevelse]

Extreme heat and bushfires in the south, and Tropical Cyclone Ellie in the North! ... and I have to fly up to Northern Queensland later this week for work (just south of where the cyclone is due to hit)! :lol:

[J07]

Saw this earlier....

They just couldn't resist.

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/heatwave-h...z-2459304/video

"Giving Australia a run for it's money".....er...I don't think so! They've been "creative" with their words, it just turned out that Napier was today hotter than Melbourne.

The humidities were very low. Dewpoints in the negative numbers and RH of about 9% during the hottest part of the day. Also interesting to see the footage there, showing just how windy it was. No wonder fires have kicked up.

The southerly rolled through today. Kaikoura fell 3C in 1 minute, then 3C the next minute. A total one hour drop of 12C, with southerlies gusting to 50 knots.

That's enough thread hijacking (though it's all the same system really).

Ellie is an interesting one. Where exactly are you flying to (Townsville)? I have heard it may go back offshore and re-form again after making landfall the first time! Who knows!

[opplevelse]

Thanks J07 ... that is one of the funniest things I have seen in a while LOL LOL our friends over the tasman can be a little special sometimes ... you might actually give us a run for our money in the cricket tonight though!

[opplevelse]

It has cooled right down now, todays max was only 30 or thereabouts, and it felt quite cool. Overnight mins have been above 20 for something like 7 or 8 days in a row. that is a record I think.

TC Ellie hit QLD with a bit of rain and a bit of wind, but nothing amazing. Heading up there tomorrow for work, but fortunately dont need to fly as far as I thought, only going to Brisbane (2hrs or so)

More warm weather on the way and still no rain for southern Australia ... it is bone dry here.

[J07]

It does appear that the pattern is going to break. Heat builds again during tomorrow and the weekend, apparently Melbourne is well positioned for mid 40s again. However, a genuine cool change is meant to then pass through, and should bring a lasting relief to the area, with highs in the days afterwards in the high teens or low 20s.

I did hear that Sydney failed to fall below 20C for many days, and this was apparently some sort of record. I guess it would be for Melbourne too.

[Supercell Hunters]

62% of Qld state is under water from Cat 1 EX Ellie! Over 1000mm of rain recorded some places. Crazy stuff. Ingham is worst effected place.

Monsoonal trough going to do it again on weekend pouring two cyclones which are Freddy and Gabrielle! Looks like this trough to belt down towards Seqld and NNSW next week!

[Things]

4 low in a week! This is crazy! :lol:

We're gettin a fair bit of rain here, not as bad as Ingham tho.

Last weekend it was very windy here in Redlynch, but it seems it was the only area in Cairns that was affected by the wind. You would have almost thought it was a mini cyclone!

I guess the mountains behind us had alot to do with it, ie, all the air rushing to the low (TC Ellie at the time)

Strangely enough, I find cyclones exciting

[opplevelse]

44C expected here tomorrow (melbourne) with the highest level of fire alert in over 30 years ... low humid high winds and extreme temps (44-47C over much of the state) ... it will be awful. But in typical Melbourne fashion they are expecting a 10-20C temp drop in as many minutes when the cool change comes through tomorrow afternoon. While that will drop the temp to about 25C, it will suck if there are any fires.

I was up in Brisbane yesterday, and something like 62% of the state is a declared disaster zone .. that is an area larger than Britain!

[Kentish Man]

I understand WA around Perth where my son is on a gap year has seen 40C too although those sort of temps are to be expected more frequently there than in SE Australia.

The disastrous floods in Queensland have had some reasonable UK coverage in the media.

[Supercell Hunters]

COLA, US GFS and EC going for strong intense deep monsoonal low over Brisbane/Gold Coast towards NENSW (famous supercells are) during next week! Over 500mm predicted with some strong gale to storm winds forecasted.

[opplevelse]

God help anyone in the bush today. It is midday, 41.1C outside already in Melbourne, very very strong North Westerly winds, gusting to 41kt, humidity is around the 10% mark. Total fire ban declared for the state (obviously) but my god, I would hate to think what will happen if a fire gets hold.

We have all been told to remain indoors, refrain from driving or any other activities which might create a spark ... it is seriously oppressive outside. In my 30+ years I do not ever recall conditions like this in Melbourne

It is scary.

[opplevelse]

Fires now popping up around Melbourne, 44.4C here wind at 40kts still and no cool change in the near future.

You can see the smoke plumes on the radar ... and if you know Melbourne these fires are on the outer edge of the city.

[opplevelse]

This is seriously unbeliveable ... 46.2C outside Your eyes sting in the heat, fires everywhere across the state. Power network breaking down. All trains stopped across the state ... and cool change still at least 4 hrs away.

This is about 2hrs old

Simply unbelievable ... radio is going crazy with reports of fires etc ...

I will try and find a live stream if anyone is interested

[opplevelse]

You can monitor the situation from this live stream

http://www.abc.net.au/melbourne/radio/?nav=true

Just went outside, my eyes are stinging from the heat ... seriously extrodinary ... someone mentioned apocalyptic ... an appropriate word, and probably not overstating it. Fires with fronts 20km wide, with flames 20-30m high ... listen to the link above.

Edited February 7, 2009 by opplevelse

[opplevelse]

46.4C which is alltime record temp. in Melbourne incredibly strong winds 6 major fires around built up areas.