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Posted
  • Location: Hobart, Tasmania
  • Location: Hobart, Tasmania

Too right. As you know, one of the great mythologies about Australia abroad is its supposed benign summer weather.

But this was a really sharp cold outbreak for this time of the year.

Where I live, it max'd out at 14.5C. I actually quite enjoyed it, it was windy and cloudy and my Local had the open fire burning.

Canberra has been as low as -10 ( -8 last winter ), being inland and elevated though it is a special case, the standout Aus capital for extreme cold

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Posted
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Altitude: 189 m, Density Altitude: 6 m
  • Weather Preferences: Tropical Cyclone, Blizzard, Thunderstorm, Freezing Cold Day and Heat Wave.
  • Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Altitude: 189 m, Density Altitude: 6 m

They are called cyclones in the Indian Ocean. I use to live in Perth and it has been hit in the past by the reminants of cyclones. Cyclones heading towards SW Australia have to cross over the West Australian Current which is relatively cool which will weaken any such storm.

Thank you dear Mr_Data.

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Posted
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia

I'm back from my holiday in New Zealand and finally have some spare time. Maybe time for another holiday? lol.

While I was gone, the weather here was largely dominated by a high pressure system with only a few millimetres falling. It was also consistently warm to very warm, good for the holiday makers I suppose (as we're a holiday town).

Summary here for the past week (Date/Min/Max/24hrRainfall):

Jan 12th - 15.8ºC/25.2ºC - Nil

Jan 13th - 15.0ºC/28.0ºC - Nil

Jan 14th - 19.0ºC/28.4ºC - 2.4mm

Jan 15th - 20.7ºC/27.2ºC - 3.2mm

Jan 16th - 19.0ºC/27.5ºC - Nil

Jan 17th - 19.3ºC*/24.2ºC - 26.0mm

Jan 18th - 20.0ºC*/28.7ºC - 1.0mm

*Minimums with asterisk are from Coffs Harbour BOM site, the nearest comparable site. The minimums the past couple of nights have not been officially reported at the local BOM weather station.

There was a surge of cool to cold and fairly dry air on the 11th/12th. Locally, it produced a couple of unseasonably cool nights however being on the coast, the sea temp at this time of year (about 23/24 degrees, with often a tounge of 26/27 deg sea temps about 30-60kms off the coast) will stop the temperature dropping much below 15 at worst here. Away from the coast, and especially on the ranges, they experienced cool to cold night with several sites recording a record low January temperature. Including, Oberon (1053m ASL) recording a minimum of -0.5ºC (lowest Jan temp on record) and Goulburn (640m ASL) recorded a record-low Jan temp of -0.1ºC, and as already stated at Canberra (577m ASL). There was a bit of lingering moisture in the far south of the state and in Victoria, with some snow falling on the alpine peaks.

In the local area, there were a couple of showers on the 14th and 15th due a weak trough in the region allowed for local showers and storms. We missed the heavier showers. On the 17th, a moist onshore airstream to the south of a weak low and associated trough brought frequent showers and strong winds, a few showers were briefly moderate to heavy. There was a stray light shower during the night on the 18th.

This week, it looks like the low pressure trough off the coast here will move closer and combine with an onshore airstream to deliver showery weather. The extent to which it reinvigorates will largely determine how much rain we'll get.

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Posted
  • Location: Hobart, Tasmania
  • Location: Hobart, Tasmania

Fair shake of the sauce bottle mate, that summer humidity you experience on the sub tropical coast would be kind of.. intolerable.

20 at night every night..crikey.

No wonder people are moving to temperate Tasmania to live, and the weather is only one reason for it, its bonza ! ;)

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Posted
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia

Summary here for the past week (Date/Min/Max/24hrRainfall):

Jan 19th - 21.0ºC/28.0ºC - 0.2mm

Jan 20th - 20.4ºC/28.1ºC - 0.2mm

Jan 21st - 19.9ºC/29.1ºC - 3.4mm

Jan 22nd - 19.7ºC/24.0ºC - 15.6mm

Jan 23rd - 20.0ºC/25.8ºC - 9.2mm

Jan 24th - 20.6ºC/25.6ºC - 4.6mm

Jan 25th - 21.3ºC/24.8ºC - 23.2mm

A moist onshore airstream persisted this week. There hasn't been much rain in my local area but there's been plenty of rain elsewhere. There was flooding and there still is flooding (to various degrees, generally minor to moderate but there were a couple of major flood warnings too) along the coastal river valleys from the Sunshine Coast (in Queensland, north of Brisbane) and southward to Port Macquarie (in New South Wales, about 60kms south of here), with over 300mm falling in parts over the past week. There is a Severe Weather Warning for flash flooding current in the region (the warning has been in-place since Monday).

On the other side of Australia, Tropical Cyclone Iggy has developed about 1000kms off the NW coast of Western Australia.

For the upcoming week it looks like remaining wet. At this stage, a tropical low after "breaking away" from the monsoon trough over northern Australia could quickly move through western Queensland and New South Wales during Saturday/Sunday (it's a strange-looking scenario, and the Bureau is still being conservative about it), and then intensify quickly over the Tasman Sea on Monday to give New Zealand's South Island a quick but decent blast of weather. If it does come to fruition, it would be impressive considering the low would move southeast from around 18ºS to about 47-48ºS in just 72 hours!

On Tuesday, moisture-laden easterlies will develop and feed another trough of low pressure bringing more rainfall once again to the region.

@Styx: Yes, the nights during summer are usually somewhat uncomfortable due to the humidity here. You usually need the fan on to sleep during Summer, sometimes even during a decent number of nights in November and/or March.

BTW, it's Australia Day today (Jan 26th), commemorating the arrival in 1788 of the First Fleet in Sydney and the proclamation at that time of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of New Holland.

Edited by NthNSW
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Posted
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia

Good afternoon everybody,

I hope you had another good week. :-)

Summary here for the past week (Date/Min/Max/24hrRainfall):

Jan 26th - 20.0ºC/22.8ºC - 15.6mm

Jan 27th - 21.1ºC/27.7ºC - 0.6mm

Jan 28th - 20.4ºC/26.6ºC - 1.4mm

Jan 29th - 19.9ºC/25.7ºC - 3.6mm

Jan 30th - 21.4ºC/25.4ºC - Nil

Jan 31st - 23.2ºC/27.2ºC - 57.8mm

Feb 1st - 19.7ºC/21.5ºC - 95.4mm

It was another damp week here. A tropical low dragged down the monsoon trough to the NSW/QLD border, bringing moderate to heavy rain to parts of western Queensland and the northern inland of New South Wales. It is unusual for the monsoon trough to come that far south. The low weakened over western NSW, however brought heavy rain to "Outback" places like Broken Hill and brought almost all of the 160mm that fell there during January (Broken Hill's annual average is 260mm!). A cold front attached to a trough moved into NSW, weakening as it reached central parts of the state. The trough attached itself to a monsoonal low and trough over northern QLD during the 30th and 31st, directing moist tropical air down in the trough into the north-east quadrant of NSW (it was very humid here on the 31st before the rain developed), this combined with moist easterly winds directed by a high pressure system over northern New Zealand, brought fairly widespread heavy rain. A small low developed near here embedded within the trough on the afternoon of the 1st, directing heavy rain/showers onto the coast. Overnight the small low embedded within the trough has moved southward to the Hunter/Newcastle region, and today it is partly cloudy and warm here. The rain has brought renewed flooding to coastal river valleys around here. The rivers over the north-eastern inland of NSW are experiencing flooding too, with some rivers expecting major flooding over the coming days (these rivers also experienced moderate/major flooding in late November too). For example, Tamworth has had about 180mm over the past 54 hours, a place which usually averages 650-700mm annually. It is still raining there as I type (but should ease overnight). There is major flooding across western Queensland as well.

It should be drier this week, with the trough currently weakening over central NSW overnight. Humid easterly winds should continue to direct moisture over eastern NSW over the next 4 days or so, but there'll only be localised light falls as there will be no real trigger for rainfall. Early indications are a low pressure trough will develop over eastern NSW on Tuesday and bring rain, which could stay around for a few days. Daytime temperatures should be around 26-27 degrees this week, and night-time temperatures should stay around 20 degrees, which is average for February.

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Posted
  • Location: Hobart, Tasmania
  • Location: Hobart, Tasmania

Major flooding in southern Queensland escalates, with the 'largest evacuation order' ever given by authorities, causing the evacuation of 2000 people at the town of St George ( 240 miles west of Brisbane ).

Flooding forecast to reach its peak Wednesday morning GMT

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-06/evacuation-completed-as-floodwaters-swamp-st-george/3812732

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Posted
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia

Howdy there,

Heard about the snow in parts of the UK (and Europe) this week, hope conditions are improving. At least spring is only about 3 weeks away. Been quite busy over the past two days, and haven't really had a spare moment. So I'll cover 8 days instead of the usual 7. (I'm writing this at 3am in the morning (11/2), that's how time-poor I've been lately, lol)

Summary here for the past eight days (Date/Min/Max/24hrRainfall):

Feb 2nd - 19.6ºC/26.6ºC - 0.2mm

Feb 3rd - 19.0ºC/24.5ºC - Nil

Feb 4th - 18.5ºC/28.5ºC - Nil

Feb 5th - 19.5ºC/29.0ºC - Nil

Feb 6th - 18.0ºC/29.5ºC - Nil

Feb 7th - 21.0ºC/30.0ºC - 27.0mm

Feb 8th - 17.0ºC/27.5ºC - 1.0mm

Feb 9th - 19.0ºC/27.5ºC - Nil

(For some reason since the 3rd, the temps have been rounded off to the nearest .5 or .0)

Overall, it was drier than the previous week (as expected). It became warm and humid once again, especially on the 7th. A low pressure trough on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range helped spark up storms in the region on the 7th. We received a storm here, with some heavy rain and a bit of wind, although thunder/lightning was infrequent. It was somewhat unusual that we had gone more than 8 weeks without a storm during this time of year (last storm was Dec 4th, though there were plenty of storms in Spring). Wind shear was somewhat average, so the best of the storms were on the slopes and ranges. That night, a small low developed off the coast of Newcastle and moved up the lower North Coast until about sunrise, bringing heavy rain to towns/cities like Forster, Taree, Port Macquarie and Kempsey, with falls of 75-125mm in a few hours. It stopped about 30kms short of bringing heavy rain here though. It caused some flash flooding and there was some minor flooding in the smaller river valleys. Storms developed once again on the 8th in the region, however activity was more isolated and generally stuck to the slopes and ranges once again. Penrith, a major western suburb of Sydney, received 115mm mainly from a storm during the evening on the 9th (mostly falling between 7pm & 9:30pm). It caused flash flooding there, and especially so in the semi-rural suburb of Londonderry to the north where rain was heavier (though no official guage there). Major flooding from last week's rain is still affecting parts of western Queensland and the northern inland of New South Wales. Floodwaters in that area are always slow moving, and the current flood warning for the Darling River has Wilcannia (near-ish to Broken Hill) seeing a major flood peak there in late March (about 8 weeks after the rain would've fallen!)

This evening, there was a little bit of rain from an area of decayed storms. The low pressure trough will hang about the state for much of this week. It should bring isolated, possibly scattered, showers and storms to the region this week. Given the hit/miss nature of storms, it has the potential to be quite a dry week with very little rainfall (<5mm), however in saying that there is a chance that we could possibly pick up a couple of 5-10mm falls this week. A bit of a 'wait and see' situation. Regardless, it should be a warm and humid week with maximums in the high 20s (possibly a 30 on Sunday) and minimums around 19-20 degrees.

Edited by NthNSW
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Posted
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia

Good afternoon everyone,

I noticed it's going to be about 10ºC in London today. Probably a nice change from more recent temperatures there.

Summary here for the past week (Date/Min/Max/24hrRainfall):

Feb 10th - 18.0ºC/27.1ºC - 0.2mm

Feb 11th - 20.0ºC/26.8ºC - 0.4mm

Feb 12th - 19.0ºC/28.3ºC - 0.2mm

Feb 13th - 19.4ºC/28.7ºC - 21.0mm

Feb 14th - 17.4ºC/27.2ºC - 5.6mm

Feb 15th - 18.8ºC/27.7ºC - Nil

Feb 16th - 19.9ºC/27.6ºC - Nil

For the most part, it was a stormy and unsettled week along the New South Wales north coast due to a low pressure trough hanging around. Rain on the 10th, 11th and 12th was from anvil rain. Storms were going north and south of here. Coffs Harbour (about 60kms north of here) had a severe storm on the evening of the 12th that brought 98km/h winds and 48mm in 30 minutes (including 19mm in 6 minutes), and brought damage to the banana plantations there. I had high hopes for the 13th, it was a warm and very humid day. Mother Nature always equals things out in the end and we received two storms that afternoon. The first (at about 3:45pm) brought brief heavy rain and isolated hailstones (up to 1.5cm), and the second (at about 6:15pm) brought heavy rain, strong wind and once again isolated hailstones (up to 1cm). It came over quite dark just before each storm hit.

From the radar archive of the BOM's radar in Grafton, the two storms on the afternoon of Feb 13th (I'm a couple of kilometres west of the location 'Smoky Cape'):

http://www.theweathe...3/2012-02-13-08

Photos of the first storm as it approached my house:

Posted Image

Posted Image

Posted Image

Heavy rain during the second storm at my house:

Posted Image

The trough weakened somewhat on the 14th but the lingering instability and a weak onshore flow brought isolated, brief heavy showers to the coast that night. The 5.6mm fell in about three minutes. There were also isolated showers overnight on the 15th to the north but there were none here as a ridge of high pressure moved in. Apart from when there has been stormy activity around, it has been a mostly sunny week.

This week, another low pressure trough will move into New South Wales which should bring unsettled, stormy conditions as it moves through. It should also bring very warm weather to the coast and ranges as it nears, tending hot over inland parts. Locally, it should stay dry today and tomorrow with the ridge of high pressure persisting. However, the ridge will dissipate on Sunday and the trough will start moving across New South Wales. There is a possibility of a storm on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The south of region has the best chance on Sunday. Storm activity here is most likely on Monday as the low pressure trough will be nearest. A southerly change will accompany the passing of the trough on Monday evening/night. Though storm activity on Tuesday is likely to be suppressed, especially along the coastal fringe, because of the southerly. A ridge of high pressure should establish itself on Wednesday and keep the coast mostly fine, despite the likely development of an inland trough during Wednesday.

Maximum temperatures should be around 27-29 degrees from today to Sunday, with 30-32 degrees possible on Monday. Max temps should cool to around 26-27 degrees on Tues, Wed and Thurs. Minimum temperatures should stay around 18-21 degrees all week.

Hope yous have a great week :)

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Posted
  • Location: Whitkirk, Leeds 86m asl
  • Weather Preferences: Anything but mild south-westeries in winter
  • Location: Whitkirk, Leeds 86m asl

My friend from Melbourne has been complaining about the summer down there. This morning apparently, it was 19C at 8am which was 'cold' for him even though it's above average by some 5 degrees.. he likes to call it sub-antarctic maritime Melbourne, some people are never pleased eh?

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Posted
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia

@Aaron: Sounds like he might be a heat lover. I'd be over-the-moon if I were in Melbourne and it was 19 degrees at that time of day in summer. Melbourne got to 37.1 degrees this afternoon, and is forecast to be 38 tomorrow and 34 on Sunday. Adelaide got to 39.2 today.

Hey all good afternoon, this week seemed to fly by. Might be 2013 before we know it. :good:

Summary here for the past week (Date/Min/Max/24hrRainfall):

Feb 17th - 19.0ºC/28.3ºC - Nil

Feb 18th - 19.8ºC/28.8ºC - Nil

Feb 19th - 19.5ºC/29.0ºC - Nil

Feb 20th - 19.5ºC/29.4ºC - 31.8mm

Feb 21st - 20.4ºC/27.4ºC - Nil

Feb 22nd - 18.5ºC/27.5ºC - 1.0mm

Feb 23rd - 18.5ºC/28.0ºC - Nil

A trough moved through during the afternoon of the 20th triggering storms across northeastern New South Wales, some were severe. We received two thunderstorms here that afternoon, and it rained steadily into the evening. A weak southerly change accompanied the trough and cooled things down a bit. A scattering of generally weak storms fired up late in the morning on the 21st in the far north of the region. There was only a light sprinkle here (that didn't register), as the trough was about 40-50kms to our north in the morning, and we were under the influence of a more stable, southerly airmass (the mid levels drying out in the afternoon did no favours either). The trough moved quickly north into southern Queensland by evening. On the 22nd, some residual moisture and an upper trough moving over the region brought areas of light rain, and there were also a couple of locally heavy showers that did briefly pop up overnight but none of them hit here.

The majority of this week is looking mostly dry and generally sunny as a ridge of high pressure dominates coastal regions in the state. Slight chance of a shower coming ashore this evening, and once again a small chance in the evening tomorrow (most likely be no rain). The ridge of high pressure will start to lose its influence as it moves closer to New Zealand on the 27th/28th. A low pressure trough should then be able to move into the northern half of the state (after patiently sitting over Victoria and western New South Wales for a few days), and could bring some unsettled conditions around the 29th and/or the 1st of March. Maximums should stay around 27 to 30 degrees, and minimums should be around 18 to 21 degrees this week. It should be a nice week to bid farewell to summer.

March in this part of the country is usually an extension of summer (on average, it is marginally warmer than December), however the chance of hot days is somewhat lower (the 'heat bank' across central Australia starts to dwindle). That said, it can be just as humid as the summer months, especially in the earlier half. Around the equinox, the days start to feel more autumnal (mid 20s maximums become the norm). March is also the wettest month of the year here (average of 183.8mm), as we still have tropical influences but what's happening in the mid-latitudes start to influence what kind of weather we experience. The risk of East Coast Lows (http://www.bom.gov.a...facts/ecl.shtml) increases somewhat through March. These systems often bring heavy rain, strong winds and flooding (an East Coast Low in June last year brought 560mm here in 5 days).

Enjoy the rest of Feb everyone! Spring is on the horizon for youse in the NH. :drunk:

Edited by NthNSW
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Posted
  • Location: Hobart, Tasmania
  • Location: Hobart, Tasmania

Intense heat forecast for Tasmania this weekend: 38 Saturday and 35 Sunday.

Hobart's highest February temperature is 40.1 in 1899.

If the forecast temperatures are acheived it will be the first time since 1982 to have 2 successive days above 35.

A total fire ban today with a fire index rating of 'severe'.

Updated current temperatures and live webcam image below. ( Time +11 hours from GMT ).

Edited by Styx
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Posted
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia

Adelaide got to 40.3ºC today (10.9ºC above Feb average). A maximum of 38.8ºC in Hobart (17.2ºC above Feb average) and a max of 39.4ºC at Hobart Airport today! Forecast to be 37 in Adelaide and Hobart tomorrow. Melbourne is going for 34 tomorrow after a max of 37.1ºC today.

The relative humidity dropped to 10-11% down there today. Poor 'Styx' is probably shrivelled up, might have to throw him in a bowl of water and rehydrate him, lol. http://cdn.nwstatic.co.uk/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.png Definately be people getting static shocks down there today and tomorrow.

At 3pm EDT (currently 6:35pm), it was 38.7ºC in Hobart with 12% humidity, meanwhile at the same time up here it was 29.0ºC with 64% humidity. In Hobart during February, the average 3pm humdity is 55%. Here the average 3pm humidity in February is 77%.

Edited by NthNSW
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Posted
  • Location: Whitkirk, Leeds 86m asl
  • Weather Preferences: Anything but mild south-westeries in winter
  • Location: Whitkirk, Leeds 86m asl

Sure is hot in Hobart, there's also big diurnal ranges 8.3C-39.1C at Bushy Park

Edited by Aaron
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Posted
  • Location: Hobart, Tasmania
  • Location: Hobart, Tasmania

Sure is hot in Hobart, there's also big diurnal ranges 8.3C-39.1C at Bushy Park

I noticed this too, a 31 degree variation within the space of a few hours is the steepest rise I have ever seen in Tasmania.

In Hobart it reached 38.8 on Saturday and 36.7 on Sunday - the hottest 2 consecutive days for 30 years.

The record for the highest February daily minimum temperature appears to have fallen this morning - no lower than 23 ( 11 above average ) in the 24 hour period to 9am Monday ( local time ).

As of 9:45am Monday ( 10:45pm GMT Sunday ) there is a lot of smoke around Hobart - the image can be seen below via the link in my signature. It is associated with a large bushfire to the north of the city, but no property has been destroyed. It was apparently started by a guy taking his car for a joyride on a bush track, and somehow sparks from the exhaust ignited some long grass on the side of the road.

Edited by Styx
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Posted
  • Location: Hobart, Tasmania
  • Location: Hobart, Tasmania

Poor 'Styx' is probably shrivelled up, might have to throw him in a bowl of water and rehydrate him, lol. http://cdn.nwstatic.co.uk/forum/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.png Definately be people getting static shocks down there today and tomorrow.

Ha..yea almost ! I really hate the heat so I'm prone to shrivel very easily.

Defiently unusual prolonged heat at this latitude, and almost unprecendented. I think 2 consecutive daily minimums above 22 is unprecedented in Hobart, which is what we got on the weekend.

Edited by Styx
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Posted
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia

Pretty major rain event about to occur across southern and central New South Wales. It has already given inland parts of Victoria a decent drop of rain (some 100mm+ 24 hr rainfalls there in 24hrs to 9am this morning). The Bureau of Meteorology have issued a "Significant Weather Media Release", which doesn't happen often, usually only 2 or 3 times a year in each state/territory. There are already flood watches and some flood warnings current. A Severe Weather Warning for a number of districts across Southern/Central New South Wales is current (http://www.bom.gov.a...gs/severe.shtml).

Significant Weather Media Release:

Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology

New South Wales

Significant Weather Media Release

Issued at 3:56 pm EDT on Tuesday 28 February 2012.

Flood threat for southern and central NSW and the ACT

The Bureau of Meteorology warned today that heavy rain and thunderstorms pose a significant flood threat to large parts of the southern half of NSW inlcuding the ACT.

The Bureau has issued a Severe Weather Warning and Flood Watch for a large part of central and southern NSW with heavy rain developing today and increasing on Wednesday and Thursday. The Nepean-Hawkesbury River which provides a border to western Sydney is included in the Flood Watch and is likely to flood before the end of the week.

"A major rainfall event is unfolding and we expect flooding to develop in the coming days," the Bureau's New South Wales Regional Director Mr Barry Hanstrum said today.

"The heaviest falls are most likely in a band running between Broken Hill to the south and central coast including Ivanhoe, Forbes, Young, Cowra, Canberra, Goulburn, Wollongong and Sydney. Some locations could receive falls in excess of 300mm over the next several days," Mr Hanstrum said.

"This event is perhaps the most significant rainfall event that some of these areas have seen in decades and records may be broken. I urge people to keep a close eye on the latest warnings issued by the Bureau," he added.

New South Wales State Emergency Service Commissioner Mr Murray Kear has urged people in areas affected to prepare now. "People living and working along rivers and streams in the areas affected by the Flood Watch and warnings should prepare now. If you live in rural areas lift pumps and relocate livestock and equipment to higher ground. If isolation is likely stock up now on food, fuel, medicine and other essential items."

"In urban areas if you are in a flood prone location activate your flood plan and prepare your property and family. It is particularly important that once heavy rain begins to fall you and your family stay well clear of floodwater. If you need help call the NSW SES on 132 500 or 000 if it is a life-threatening emergency."

(http://www.bom.gov.a...pl?IDN38503.txt)

My brother lives in Goulburn, but he is well above flood level. In the north east of the state where I am, we are expecting little rain over the next 4-5 days at this stage due to a stubborn ridge of high pressure. We will however continue to experience warm to very warm and humid conditions. The minimum here last night was a sticky 22ºC.

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Posted
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia

Good afternoon everyone,

Summary here for the past week (Date/Min/Max/24hrRainfall):

Feb 24th - 19.0ºC/28.0ºC - Nil

Feb 25th - 20.0ºC/30.0ºC - Nil

Feb 26th - 21.5ºC/28.0ºC - Nil

Feb 27th - 21.0ºC/27.5ºC - Nil

Feb 28th - 22.0ºC/28.0ºC - Nil

Feb 29th - 22.0ºC/30.3ºC - Nil

Mar 1st - 22.4ºC/29.1ºC - Nil

A ridge of high pressure kept things rain-free here all week, however it was a warm to very warm and humid week. The ridge turned out to be stronger than forecast, and has stopped the rain in central New South Wales from creeping north so far. A very moist onshore feed gave the southern Queensland coast a drenching on the 24th/25th, especially on the Sunshine Coast where Tewantin received 215mm in 24 hours. Southern and central New South Wales have received some heavy falls over the past few days due to a trough drawing in tropical moisture, and there are a number of river systems with flood warnings current. Warragamba Dam (Sydney's main dam) is expected to spill over tonight for the first time since 1998 (has a capacity of a bit over 2,000,000 megalitres). The dam dropped as low as 32% during the height of the 2006 drought. Goulburn's main dam, Pejar Dam (capacity of 9,000 megalites), had just 3 megalitres of water left in 2006 (0.03%), but it is now overflowing.

A little light rain is expected to develop here tonight and persist into tomorrow, with a weak trough dissipating over the region (about 5mm or so expected). A trough should move through later on Monday bringing some rain, and should clear during Tuesday. As the trough moves away, a high pressure system near Tasmania should direct S to SE'ly winds onto the coast bringing the possibility of light showers.

This week should start off warm, but become mild with max temps falling to 24-25 degrees after the passage of trough during Tuesday. Nights should stay around 20-21 degrees, until the nights cool a bit to 17-18 degrees as the southerly winds develop.

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Posted
  • Location: Hobart, Tasmania
  • Location: Hobart, Tasmania

Summer In Australia 2011-12 season

Maximum temperatures Australia as a whole: -0.55 degrees cooler than average ( 1961-90 ), making it the 11th coolest year in 62 years.

State variations were New South Wales -1.71 degrees below ( 2nd coolest on record ) to Tasmania +1.04 above ( 3rd warmest ).

Minimum temperatures Australia as a whole: -0.32 degrees cooler than average, making it the 15th coolest year in 62 years of records.

State variations were Queensland -0.78 degrees below ( 8th coolest on record ) to Tasmania +1.04 above ( 4th warmest ).

Rainfall Australia as a whole: 16% above average making it the 22nd wettest summer season in 112 years. With the exception of some parts of the tropical north and the far SE corner, most of the country was above average.

State variations were New South Wales +53% above average and Tasmania -26% below.

More information with colour coded anomoly maps here: http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/season/aus/summary.shtml

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Posted
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia

Great link Styx. I forgot all about the seasonal summary that BOM produce.

I was one of just a few areas in northeast New South Wales and southern Queensland that didn't receive substantial rainfall over this summer. I recorded 434.6mm this summer, which is 1.2mm below our summer average of 435.8mm.

Summary here for the past week (Date/Min/Max/24hrRainfall):

Mar 2nd - 20.9ºC/26.9ºC - 8.0mm

Mar 3rd - 20.2ºC/25.0ºC - 0.8mm

Mar 4th - 19.3ºC*/26.7ºC - Nil

Mar 5th - 20.9ºC/28.3ºC - 12.0mm

Mar 6th - 17.8ºC/25.2ºC - 2.2mm

Mar 7th - 16.0ºC/24.8ºC - Nil

Mar 8th - 16.0ºC/26.0ºC - Nil

*Observation missing for local site. Coffs Harbour obs used instead for this temp reading.

Locally, not much really happening over the past week. Overall, it was a cooler week, more autumnal rather than summer-like. Just some light rain earlier this week, and a bit of light to steady rain on the 5th/6th. A tropical low affected parts of southern Queensland, mainly between the Sunshine Coast and Bundaberg. It brought heavy rain there, especially around Gympie and Maryborough where 24hr totals above 150mm were common, with 302mm falling in 24 hours at Tiaro on the 4th. An East Coast Low developed off the central New South Wales coast on the 7th as the trough moved over the ocean, bringing heavy rain to areas south of Newcastle that night before moving away by afternoon on the 8th. A weak tornado causing patchy minor damage was reported from the eastern suburbs of Sydney on the morning of the 8th and there were falls of 100-150mm in 24 hours in Sydney. Because the low was south of us, it brought dry winds to northern New South Wales and humidity was kinda low. The past couple of nights have been cool as a result (and cold on the adjacent tablelands). Major flooding continues across parts of southern and western parts of the state.

At this stage, this week is looking mainly dry. A high pressure system should keep things fairly stable and dry. There is a risk of a light shower over the next couple of days but in all likelihood it should stay dry, though if a shower were to occur it would most likely happen during Saturday night. The high pressure should loosen its grip by Wednesday/Thursday, allowing a trough to move into the state but it will probably be too far west to affect us.

Minimums this week should stay around 16 to 18 degrees, a bit cool for this time of year. Maximums should be around 25-27 degrees, which is about average for March. However, humidity should stay lower than average. This afternoon, dry NW'ly winds have brought a warm and dry day here. At 3pm, it was 28.8ºC with just 48% humidity at the local site.

Edited by NthNSW
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Posted
  • Location: Sunderland
  • Weather Preferences: cold
  • Location: Sunderland
What a lovely climate you have NthNSW- bar the excessive humidity, but I guess this does help storms-- I'd love the amount of warm, sunny days you have with temps in the late 20's! Thanks to you and styx for the thread though- really interesting!
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Posted
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia

Thanks Isolated Frost.

It is a nice climate. As you said the summers are warm and humid, which can be uncomfortable, but it does help to trigger storms and heavy rain. With that said, I've found the peak in thunderstorm activity to usually be in November, where it can be warm and humid but mid/upper-level temps can still be cool at times. Wind shear is usually good in November as well, which all combine to help create more favourable setups. The majority of severe storms that I have experienced have occurred in October and November.

Usually in my area, summer thunderstorms favour heavy rain, and spring thunderstorms favour hail formation and strong wind. Autumn thunderstorms are infrequent. Winter thunderstorms are rare (if any do occur, it is nearly always in August).

Here are the temp/rainfall averages for my town:

(Min Avg. / Max Avg. - Rainfall Avg.) (Long-term average from 1939 to Feb 2012)

Jan - 19.5/26.8 - 146.9mm

Feb - 19.7/26.9 - 168.6mm

Mar - 18.8/26.1 - 183.8mm

Apr - 16.6/24.0 - 170.8mm

May - 14.3/21.4 - 133.6mm

Jun - 12.1/19.2 - 138.5mm

Jul - 11.2/18.7 - 78.7mm

Aug - 11.7/19.8 - 80.4mm

Sep - 13.4/21.8 - 56.6mm

Oct - 15.1/23.2 - 94.2mm

Nov - 16.7/24.5 - 114.8mm

Dec - 18.4/25.9 - 119.4mm

Annual - 15.6/23.2 - 1485.1mm

Hottest temp: 41.7ºC (19th Nov 1968)

Coldest temp: 4.0ºC (25th Aug 1997)

Driest year: 814.5mm (1941)

Wettest year: 3011.2mm (1950)

Edited by NthNSW
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Posted
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)
  • Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex (work in Mid Sussex)

Severe storm warning for south-east

New South Wales, Victoria, the ACT and Tasmania are in the firing line after severe thunderstorms ploughed through South Australia yesterday.

Storms are likely in Sydney tomorrow, probably late in the day, Brett Dutschke, senior meteorologist at Weatherzone, said. Thunderstorms are possible in Melbourne this afternoon and early evening, but are much more likely overnight, he said. The overnight storms could be quite intense. Northern and eastern suburbs should be most affected. Storms will move east of the Melbourne area during Friday morning.

Today the main low-pressure trough will cross Victoria, Tasmania, and western and southern NSW and is likely to generate severe storms, mainly late in the day and overnight, Mr Dutschke said. Melbourne, Hobart and Canberra are all a chance of storms. Storms yesterday also formed over parts of Victoria, Tasmania and NSW. Some were severe, but today will be a bigger day for much of the region.

Last night, wind gusts as strong as 117km/h were recorded at Point Wilson, near Geelong, when a small line of storms moved through. Tomorrow the trough will move slowly east, taking the main area of potentially severe storms across eastern Victoria, the ACT and NSW, possibly affecting Canberra and Sydney late in the day. Each storm will have the ability to bring heavy downpours, leading to flash flooding. Some will produce damaging winds and possibly large hail.

30,000 lightning strikes hit South Australia

About 30,000 lightning strikes hit South Australia, including 1000 in the Adelaide area, as storms formed in a line from the southern coastline to the Northern Territory border. Flash flooding and damaging winds were major features, causing damage and power outage. Some of the heaviest rain over South Australia yesterday was in the Adelaide area, where southern and hills suburbs had 20 to 40mm in about an hour, flooding roads and properties. For some this was the wettest day in many months.

As much as 46mm fell at Ackland Hill and 37mm at Eagle On The Hill. The city picked up 24mm, its wettest day in 12 months. Wind gusts reached 100km/h in some parts including Snowtown in the mid north.

Gusts of about 90km/h were recorded in Moonta, Port Augusta and Hindmarsh Island, which are still strong enough to bring down trees and powerlines

http://www.smh.com.a...l#ixzz1pAfN3bQA

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Posted
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia

Summary here for the past week (Date/Min/Max/24hrRainfall):

Mar 9th - 15.5ºC/29.0ºC - Nil

Mar 10th - 18.5ºC/28.5ºC - 8.2mm

Mar 11th - 18.6ºC/27.0ºC - 8.2mm

Mar 12th - 20.3ºC/25.5ºC - 0.4mm

Mar 13th - 18.2ºC/27.0ºC - 2.0mm

Mar 14th - 19.5ºC/27.2ºC - Nil

Mar 15th - 19.3ºC/27.1ºC - 6.0mm

It was a generally warm week, with varying amounts of sunshine. Rain that fell between the 10-13th was from isolated showers along the coastal fringe that would develop late in the evening and clear by sunrise, whilst the days would remain mostly sunny or partly cloudy (although the 12th was overcast all day). We were lucky enough to score showers on all four nights, probably because of our exposed coastal location. A bit of cold air in the upper levels and some residual moisture caused light afternoon rain here on the 15th.

Over in Western Australia, Tropical Cyclone Lua formed off the NW coast on the 13th, and is now approaching the Pilbara coast and should make landfall as a severe Category 3 cyclone on the 17th.

It is a beautiful, warm sunny day today, with a NE'ly seabreeze. Tomorrow, a trough will continue moving eastwards into the northeastern quadrant of the state bringing some showers or rain and a possible storm, with a weak(ish) southerly change accompanying the passage of the trough in the late evening.

The rest of the upcoming week is looking complex from Monday. Both EC and GFS show a tropical low in the Gulf of Carpentaria but differ in its movement from Sunday. EC has the tropical low staying over the southern Gulf and moving onto land late on Monday and weakening over western Queensland during the following days. However, GFS has the tropical low moving onto the Gulf coast on Sunday and weakening as an upper level trough spawns a low off the North Queensland coast, rapidly moving down the Queensland coast on Tuesday to around Sunshine Coast and Brisbane. GFS has the tropical low directing heavy rain and strong wind (possibly gales) onto the northern New South Wales coast on Wednesday and Thursday as it sits just off the coast of the New South Wales / Queensland border (about 28ºS) before moving eastwards and away. BOM are placing their bets with the EC scenario for now, which is the model they generally favour. The GFS scenario looks more exciting, so I'm hoping it actually does end up occurring.

Edited by NthNSW
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Posted
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia
  • Location: South West Rocks, New South Wales, Australia

The last few runs of GFS have fallen into line with EC (other models are showing similar things to EC too), and so the remote chance of a tropical low bringing heavy rain to the southern Queensland and northern New South Wales coast later this week is now gone. Now that things are looking clearer, it should be like what EC was suggesting. The decent chance of some onshore showers over the next couple of days before a ridge of high pressure looks like bringing fairer weather.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Lua has made landfall on the Pilbara coast near Pardoo as a Category 4 system. Despite its strength, there should be minimal damage as it has hit a very very sparsely populated stretch of coastline.

BTW, here's a short read about tropical cyclones that have affected New South Wales in the past: http://www.bom.gov.a...about/nsw.shtml

Edited by NthNSW
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