Brayden
Those shots you took near Wodonga are awesome. It looks like that you are NE of Mt Baranduda looking S or SW.
This is the best pyrocumulus cloud that I have seen. I grew up in Albury across the border in NSW and I remember seeing something reasonably similar during the 1985 / 1986 bushfires generally in the same region.
I remember two consecutive days in early January 1986 in which temperatures hit 42C and 41C over the two days and there was a bushfire outbreak in NE Victoria although not as large and as significant as this. One fire did produce a significant pyrocumulus cloud.
Black Friday 1940
Actually on this subject, if there are any photos around, you may wish to do a comparison to Black Friday (Friday 13 1940). You may see something not too dissimilar here and in the same locality too.
Apparently on this day 10% of Victoria went up in flames. I did a research project on this at high school and the event of Black Friday came at the back of a drought that was very severe. The current drought that you are experiencing seems to be similar to what happened in 1939 / 1940.
That heatwave on those four days (January 9 to 13 - 1940) pushed temperatures to record levels, something that has not been reached since although they have been approached (eg 3 January 1990 and again in January 2002 at Albury). I remember reading through newspaper articles and records that have been kept at the Albury City library and I remember seeing a temperature of about 47.9C for Albury on that day (Friday 13 1940) and a 49.7C nearby but I cannot confirm that higher figure.
On that day, vast areas of NE Victoria was blackened and the problems then are not too dissimilar to what is happening today except on that day (13/1/1940), 71 people lost their lives and whole towns were lost.
Its interesting to see the similarities of today (2006) to that year (1939 / 1940). Could this be a repeat of that year?
However, it was not long afterwards that the drought broke in mid to late summer, apparently something that is rare. The BOM has prepared a rainfall map for all to see on their website showing what happening to rainfall in 1940 and it is amazing to see the stark contrast.
If you look at the rainfall figures for 1939, approximately 233 mm of rain (Give or take a small amount) fell in a 12 month period of 1938/1939 but I am aware of a 100 mm fall occurring (a one off event) that pushed the total to about 330 mm for 1939. This is the lowest but this year may pip that.
This year, I think that you have had about 260 mm (Give or take and correct me if I am wrong). Its in the lowest 10 percentile of rainfall figures. In terms of rainfall it appears to be matching that year (1939). In terms of heatwaves you are getting, it appears to be matching that year and again these fires appear to be matching that year too.
Incidentally, the bushfires of that year were burning for weeks which culminated in the Black Friday events.
Its worth noting the similarities of the two years. So overall, excellent photos but it is a frightening reality and a reminder that something similar in similar circumstances happened 66 years ago (In this very region).
Harley Pearman
