Australian Weather - Summer 2009

[opplevelse]

Cool change has arrived, but that is very bad news for the fires ...

[opplevelse]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/bushfires/

Friends family is holed up in their farm right in the firing line ... she has just called and is distraught, hasnt heard anything for a while

[opplevelse]

14 people confirmed dead with fears of up to 40

[Supercell Hunters]

MY last week in supercell zone of Australia here until uni at Armidale NSW right on NT. So snow reports to come!

[opplevelse]

Official death toll is now 26 but 8 people in intensive care at the alfred (major hospital) and many towns have not been able to be searched as the fires are still cutting off access.

Pyrocumulus have been creating havoc with dry lightningstarting many new fires, and an unstable band of thunderstorms is now moving through the area. While the cool front has made things more pleasent in Melbourne it is not good news for the fires as all it does is change the wind direction, which if you can imagine, changes a fire which has burnt 20km with a 1km wide front, into a 20km wide front ...

Entire towns have been wiped from the face of the planet, with reports of just one building left standing in Marysville ... one of the prettiest towns I have ever been to.

Extrodinary weather, from 46.4C here yesterday, it is now a pleasent cool 22C, and a max of 24 is expected.

[opplevelse]

EXTRAORDINARY video of Marysville

http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200902/r337253_1529939.asx

But from the CFA

Further update on the Marysville township:

We understand that everyone is safe in Marysville and are assembled at Gallipoli Park. Emergency response crews are working on getting emergency services into the town; however crews were experiencing difficulty gaining access to the town due to trees falling across the road. People are reminded to remain at Gallipoli Park until advised by DSE or CFA authorities that it is safe to leave. Vic SES and the Red Cross are organising delivery of food and drink to the residents and fire fighters who are sheltering at the Gallipoli Park relief centre.

Stay tuned to ABC radio to hear further details on this fire as they come to hand.

[opplevelse]

Death toll from this tragedy is up to 108 now :lol:

The scenes of devestation have been simply extraordinary, and PyroCu have created lighting which has started still more fires. Weather conditions have eased somewhat, but there are still areas of major concern in the NE of Victoria :lol: around Beechworth.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/bushfires/

Has it been getting any coverage in the UK ... the entire State, and indeed the country is struggling to cope with this ... and it is not over yet

Edited February 9, 2009 by opplevelse

[Somerset Squall]

Has it been getting any coverage in the UK ... the entire State, and indeed the country is struggling to cope with this ... and it is not over yet

Yes, it was on the BBC evening news tonight, absolutely terrible. I can't imagine what people are going through or what it's like. The news said despite temperatures decreasing, winds are still strong and everything so dry, so some substantial rain will be the only thing that will properly control/extinguish the fires.

The coverage also mentioned foul play, how it's been reported that arsonists are deliberately starting fires as it's so easy in the conditions. If this is happening, the individuals responsible are very sick indeed.

[paul tall]

This is a tragedy.

My thoughts are with you all over there.

RIP those that couldn't escape the fires.

[Lightning Ed]

I'm speechless. Its headline world news on the BBC. I'm stunned - truly.

As above my thoughts go to everyone affected by this.

Edited February 9, 2009 by Lightning Ed

[opplevelse]

It is very subdued at work today. Fires are still threatening the NE communities around Beechworth etc. and there is a risk that if it gets into the Alpine Nat Park, a fire like what occured in 2003 may result (when 1.3Million Hectares was burnt). I fought those fires.

Re-reading this thread is a little chilling to be honest as my posts were before any fires actually had taken hold.

[Scarf-Carrot-Coal]

I have just flown today into Perth from Auckland. The route normally flies over Sydney and Adelaide before following the south coast and cutting off south east Australia to fly into Perth. Today we flew over Tasmania and across the sea before we cut the corner for south east Australia. It was a totally different route .... I guess to avoid the areas affected by the fires.

[biddie]

Can I please give my deepest sympathies to the good people people of Australia that have suffered due to the fires truly dreadful. Has brought a lump to my throat listening to some of the sad stories. I will say a prayer for you all

Edited February 9, 2009 by biddie

[opplevelse]

I am sure everyone in Australia appreciates your sympathies Chins up, now is time to rebuild

These are my experiences for the day written to friends in Oslo ...

Dear all,

I know many of you and though not directly affected by the fires I thought I would share my thoughts so you might gain an insight into what happened on Saturday 7th February 2009.

After 2 and a bit years in Oslo I was not prepared for this when I returned to Melbourne in December.

We were warned. It was advised by the Bureau of Meteorology that Saturday would be the most extreme fire day imaginable.

A week before we had experience 3 days of 40+ temps in a row, and we had become somewhat accustomed to the heat ... but that went away. 40+ days are not uncommon in Melbourne at this time of year, but to have 3 of them in a row is.

Friday was a pleasant day, about 30C not much wind and relatively humid. The forecast for Saturday was 44C but for Sunday it was 23C. People were asking how on earth it could reach such a high temp on Saturday after a week of reasonably mild temps (Mid to late 20s) and with a forecast of a cool Sunday? Friday night I was out with friends and it had not really cooled down by 2am.

Saturday morning we woke to 34C by 10am with fresh Northerlies. By midday the temperature in the leafy Eastern suburbs of Melbourne had risen to 41.1C in the shade and the wind had picked up. We took our 5 month old daughter outside for a swim in the pool, but quickly came back inside as it was just too hot even with the cool water.

Victoria is parched dry at the moment. We shower with buckets in the shower to save the water and put it on the garden that we are not allowed to water.

Cars are dirty because you are not allowed to wash them, and all lawns have died because you are not allowed to water them. There is no water and no rain since early December.

The wind kept increasing. I have travelled throughout much of Australia and have experienced heat in excess of 45C many times (51 was my hottest in WA near Tom Price), but never have I experienced anything like this. The wind was gusting to 50knts, that is 90km/h (25m/s), and the temperature kept rising. By 3pm it was 46.4C in Melbourne with the humidity down to 5%, the hottest day on record.

I ventured outside and it was like a blast furnace. I cannot think of a better way to describe it. As many of you know I am a big weather buff ... I had never experienced anything remotely close, and commented on a weather forum at the time "God help those in the bush if a fire gets hold", but they already knew.

The first report of serious fires began filtering in over 774AM ABC radio at about 1pm.

At 4pm the cool change we had been expecting had reached Aireys Inlet on the coast and was heading towards Melbourne and the fires. Normally a cool change would be a welcome thing, but by the time it reached the fires it wasn't. Imagine a fire that had burnt 20km with a 1km wide front, the cool change and associated wind gusts in a different direction just made that into a fire which had burnt 1km with a 20km wide front.

The temperature dropped from 46C to 28C in about 20minutes ... but it was false hope.

I was closely involved in fighting the 2003 bushfires at Mt Hotham in central Victoria. Those fires burnt over 1.3 million hectares, an area about 25% of that of southern Norway. They scared me. Watching 30m high trees erupt into eucalypt oil fueled flames in front of you does that. It humbles you. But the ferocity of those was nothing compared to this. I cannot imagine.

Communities have literally been wiped from the planet, Kinglake, Marysville two of the prettiest country towns in the world now no longer exist. Imagine Geilo, Hemsedal, Hovden vanishing.

Everyone I know in Victoria has been affected in some way. My father has lost a work collegue and his family, my friend, a CFA volunteer (volunteer fire fighter) knows of at least 7 friends of his who lost their lives.

This is a tragedy on a scale unimaginable, it has affected all Australians.

The final death toll is likely to be close to, if not above 300.

I urge you all to donate to the Red Cross as Simon suggested. Apart from the lives lost there are thousands of others who have literally lost everything.

Red Cross appeal :unsure:

http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_em...appeal-2009.htm

Sorry for the long winded email, but I just wanted to share my thoughts.

In condolence,

James, Erin and Elisabeth

Edited February 12, 2009 by opplevelse

[opplevelse]

Today I had the oportunity to help do some repair work at the Children First Foundation ( http://www.childrenfirstfoundation.com/ )farm house near Kilmore. The Kilmore East fire started nearby the farmhouse and the fire got within 5m of the house, but 4 CFA trucks were able to save the house (which actually was subject to Ch9's Backyard Blitz!)

Anyway, a few pics. Didnt take too many as there was too much to do (click for larger).

Smoke over Melbourne at 7:30 this morning

The Childrens playground was destroyed

This was a slide

I dont think the sign is necessary any more (I actually saved this from the tip to be used as a memorial)

I cant remember but I think it was a crawlling tube in the playground

Not much left in the paddocks

Looking south from the farmhouse

A few more to come

The Rotary club sign at the front gate did not fare too well

Neither did the pine plantation

In the end the area was made safe for the kids again

The 110km/hr sign on the Hume near the Clonbinane exit

[opplevelse]

Lovely warm weather with a smoke haze over the city of Melbourne over the last few days 28-30C

[J07]

Canberra:

However, there was significant variability in the temperatures. For example, on the 7th and 8th, the mercury soared to 40 degrees, the hottest February days in the city for 41 years. Then, just four days later, on the 12th, the temperature struggled to just 16 degrees, making it the coldest February day in four years.

Impressive stuff!

Looks as though a strong cold change is on the way for Victoria on Tuesday. This really is quite a strong front, with good upper support, good temperature gradient and very cyclonic curvature, followed by a strong pressure gradient associated with being on the outer domain of an anticyclone.

The low looks very scary for summer (or early autumn, if you must!), luckily for us it will likely fall to pieces by the time it crosses the Tasman, weakened by strong ridging ahead of it and becoming vertically stacked in the upper levels.

[opplevelse]

Yep waiting for the wind here in Melbourne.

It is all calm at the moment but they are talking about sustained 40-50KNOTS with gusts to 70-80 kts!!!! Bloody hell!