Topic: Killarney (QLD) Tornado Anniversary - 1968

[Macca]

I thought others may be interested in reading this...

From the "weatherzone" weather news section...

Killarney marks tornado anniversary

Residents of Killarney, on the southern Darling Downs, have offered messages of support to people affected by the storms of the past week.

Last night residents gathered to mark the night 40 years ago when their town was wiped off the map.

November 22, 1968 is a date etched in Killarney history.

A tornado ripped through the sleepy Border Ranges town. By the time it was over, one girl was dead and just 27 of the town's 240 homes were left standing.

Almost everyone in town had been at the local theatre for a school speech night - it was one of the few buildings which did not collapse.

Last night, exactly 40 years later, locals returned to reflect.

Ann Goodwin says their thoughts were with victims of this week's weather.

"We feel very sorry for everybody that's had all the damage in Brisbane, we can really feel for them," she said.

The community also released its own DVD of residents' storm stories.

- ABC

Not sure if anyone has any weather data from this day but it sounds like the town took a direct hit with most of the towns houses being destroyed!

Macca

[Macca]

Ok...after just typing most of a really nice post with some more details about this day, I was looking at more data and it (somehow) deleted everything I had types...ANNOYING!  So I'll try again.

I decided to plough through some old GFS charts to see what the set up was like...so I loaded some data for the 22nd November 1968 and was a little confused....shear and instability wasn't that great...however...given that this memorial event (this weekend) went for 2 days I thought maybe the article had the date wrong.  CORRECT!  Macca: 1 vs  ABC: 0.  Of course this makes much more sense when looking at the data for the 23rd November 1968 (which was the Saturday). 

The surface pattern on the 22nd showed a weak trough sitting across NE NSW and out into the Darling Downs and NW through the Maranoa & Warrego district with NE'lys feeding moisture into this trough.  LI's were -2 to -3 (or thereabouts) on the 22nd and shear was enough to provide for some marginally severe storms across the region to the NE of the surface trough.  500mb temps on this day were around -9 to -10 across the whole region and winds at this level were healthy at 30-40knts. 

However, on the day of interest (being the 23rd),a longwave upper trough was sliding across Bass Strait and the first of two little shortwave troughs moved over southern QLD overnight on the 22nd and a second moved into south central QLD on the afternoon of the 23rd.  500mb temps dropped from -9C to -11C by mid afternoon and with the pressure gradient at that level being quite strong, the mid level shear was very nice.  In response to the second upper trough, the surface trough drifted westwards overnight on the 22nd to be lying across the western Darling Downs and down the western slopes of the NSW ranges and across the coast near Kempsey.  A very warm airmass lay across much of QLD at the time with 850mb temps ranging from 20C along the southern border up to 27C through central QLD. 

With moisture pumping into the trough overnight on the 22nd, DP's on the Darling Downs would've likely been in the mid-teens at least (not bad given the elevation).  LI's in the area were around -4 to -5C and although this doesn't sound crazily unstable, the approaching upper trough and resultant lift generated from the diverging upper level winds were obviously enough for strong storms to develop.

Shear was pretty nice with the surface trough deepening as a result of the approaching upper level short wave trough.  Surface analysis shows north to north easterly winds of 10-15knts which, after checking the 925mb winds which were the same at 15-20ktns, extended up a reasonable way (indicating moisture depth wasn't too bad).  850mb winds were NW'ly at 20-25knts and to prevent drying out, 850mb RH's were 45-50% which is not bad given the warm temperatures.  700mb winds were weak (around 20knts) anywhere north of about Kingaroy but down around the NSW/QLD border they were up to 35-40knts from the WNW.  500mb winds were very nice with a very tasty increase in speed shear hitting the Darling Downs in the afternoon of the 23rd with WNW'ly winds of 50-60knts.  Sitting atop all of this was a very healthy 80knt+ jetstream. 

Overall, conditions were pretty ripe for supercells (moreso closer to the coast given the better moisture) and with the moderate shear in the low levels and STRONG shear in the mid and upper levels, tornadoes were a distinct possibility - and unfortunately for the residents of Killarney, it was reality on the afternoon/evening of 23rd November 1968.  I wouldn't be surprised to hear reports of other severe storms across northern NSW or SEQ on this day given the set up. 

Macca

[Michael Bath]

Thanks for that great analysis Macca - I was going to have a look when I saw the article too.  Did you keep the charts ?   Could put some up in this thread if you have.

MB

[Macca]

I didn't but I also don't have anywhere to put them up.  Will save them and email them to you if you can put them up it'd be great. 

Macca

[Michael Bath]

Thanks Macca - you can use the attach function in "Additional Options" below the reply box.

[Michael Thomas]

Nice analysis Macca, it was a good read. To be honest, this really doesn't strike me as a typical tornadic event for Australia. From memory, most of the big tornado days there has been a surface low over land resulting strong NE surface winds combined with a powerful upper level jet nosing in from the west. The tornadic storm appears to have formed in the left jet entrance region which is favorable. This area is associated with upward motion similar to the right jet exist region (in the southern hemisphere). Having a brief look at the charts it would seem that the ranges around northern NSW and southern Qld were under an upper level ridge at 6Z. Having a read though the news report it does sound that the tornado occurred at night time. This might make sense, with the cooling upper level temps, lowering LCL's and potentially stronger lower level flow the potential for tornadoes may of increased in the late afternoon and early evening.

Michael

[Macca]

If I recall from trawling through data later that evening, the shear really lined out later on (although was still quite strong). 

One thing I didn't question (at all until just now) was how do we know this was a tornado?  If it occurred at night, there would be no "visual" confirmation of a funnel cloud, etc.  There is a possibility this could've been a straight-line wind event (similar to what we've just experienced here in Brisbane on Sunday last week). 

I'll have to remember to ask the BoM guys next time I talk to them.

Macca

[Michael Thomas]

Very good point, I didn't even question that for a moment. Straight line winds are often confused with tornadoes and therefore I am usually very skeptical about tornado reports. If the surface winds in the area became more NW in the early evening then it sounds like the potential for tornadoes would have dropped sharply. Maybe there is something I am missing, although, there was strong deep layer shear supportive of supercells and if the LCL was low enough then who knows what can happen.

Michael

[Jimmy Deguara]

Macca,

One thing I didn't question (at all until just now) was how do we know this was a tornado?  If it occurred at night, there would be no "visual" confirmation of a funnel cloud, etc.

Important point and one I have suspected about many other 'tornado' reports as well. During a very in depth debate on WZ a few years ago, I suggested at the time the likelihood that the Bureau severe weather database at least prior to the 1980's may be littered with tornado reports that may have in fact been microbursts since not much was known that such existed until the use of doppler in the United States and the famous experiment to detect what was causing aircraft accidents.

Of course this is the point for another discussion in a separate weather thread in general weather beyond this point ( feel free to copy the appropriate posts from this thread). Are there any other reports or photographs from media about the event?

Regards,

Jimmy Deguara