Topic: NSW / VIC / QLD Storms 20-26 January 2009 and whinge thread

[dann weatherhead]

Love it David! :D

I feel like I must whinge at the season so far. After a pretty good one last season(passable) this season has been non existant. This week is a classic example of potential gone awry.
Ading to this is the shear freakish ability of the rain to steer around the lower mountains in the last 7 days. After the baking temps up here (the warmest since i moved into my place in 2002) we have seen countless storms form over the plentiful lower mountains and dump into the plains. Last night their was an invisable shield over the Blue Mountains and this line which has been cranking since Albury is going to zip past missing us by about 30km. THe local fireries were pretty content in December thinking that with the rains through Spring - 2008/09 fire season was going to be quiet, but in the last few weeks they are much more worried - many talking about the late season being more akin to what Victoria and South Australia experience (the prevailing view is that once mid jan gets here - the humidity increases and rain sets in) - and the late season for central NSW is a rare thing.



*sigh*

[Richary]

Since I bought the DSLR a few months ago - nothing. Storms in Sydney when they have happened have been daytime. I drive to Coffs Harbour in December and stay a few days - nothing, but storms there the night I get back to Sydney. Flying to Brisbane tomorrow until Sunday - and no storms either forecast.

I will happily hire myself and the DSLR out to anywhere that wants to stop storms occurring.

Seriously, last summer at least saw a few good daytime CGs out western Sydney and also near home. This year has been very poor with lots of ICs during the day you can't see, and only a fwe CGs during the day. Probably go mad the next the 3 days while I am away.

[Jimmy Deguara]

Hi guys,

I must say normally, I am not one to whinge let alone on a thread. Since I can recall, perhaps 1982 could even come close to this crappy season. Then you have 1996 but at least we got some storms to chase. I have taken Imelda and Kimberly on extensive trips - yes trips that were supposed to be storm chases haha.

I like Kimberly's comments: "We get rain in the Philippines - I want hail!" Or the latest quote "I can't believe your chasing this stuff!"

Imelda's comments are somewhat tame: "Maybe we are giving you bad luck."

I apologise to my pregnant wife and adventurous step daughter for subjecting them to thousands of kilometres of sunburnt torture, endless scenes of tree lined roads and parched countryside. I have learned my lesson and with their forgiveness I can retreat inside from the dog-house!

The maximum size of hail for me this season - golf ball sized! If the situation does not improve, this will be the smallest maximum sized hailstones I would have experienced since 2000 - 2001 summer season. This could result in my losing ownership of the nick "hail" I would have downgraded my stature to a rookie! And then Michael Bath's quote, "I must chase tomorrow, we haven't seen a storm for two weeks". I am pretty sure it was a harmless unintentional comment but we have not had a decent storm all season!

Now is this pathetic season the cause of global warming?

We'll see how the second season goes! Oh and how about my latest pictures! See below:






All photos for 22 January 2009

Regards,
Jimmy Deguara

[Kristy Norman]

Pregnant wife!! Congratulations Jimmy! That's the most exciting news this season lol! 

[Macca]

Jimmy!  Congratulations on the news (about the pregnancy - not the lack of hail - if it makes you feel any better, my best (and only) hail this season was 4cm back in October...and it wasn't even in my car!). 

I do feel for you southern guys as we have had nothing short of a very typical storm season up here in SEQ/NENSW (although my chases have been few and far between so I missed most of the better days). 

It started with a few severe storms through September and October before the season really picked up (as it should) in November/December.  Since then it has tapered off (to virtually nothing) through most/all of January but we have had very summery weather patterns (i think?) with moist, coolish air coming off the Tasman in the south easterlies.  In the last few days this has been replaced by a more tropical burst with the surface winds swing to the N/NE and the DP's rising well into the low 20's.  With the relatively warm upper levels, not much in the way of storms has really ocurred but there has been some good rainfall (especially over the last 24hrs).  This looks to continue for another 48hrs before the wind swings back to the SE as the ridge strengthens back up along the coast.

With the warm upper temps in place at the moment and complete lack of shear, I have already started busting out the old weather DVD's (from the US) and have been watching and teasing myself.

Macca

[Dave Nelson]

With the warm upper temps in place at the moment and complete lack of shear, I have already started busting out the old weather DVD's (from the US) and have been watching and teasing myself.
Macca

Hahaha  I know that feeling some times Macca,   and it really is such a tease !!

After looking at the charts for the day,  I think I will go south and base myself in the Mossvale area and see what happens
not too bad a central area that I can go further south if necessary,  or come back towards Sydney.

Cheers
Dave N

[dann weatherhead]

Congrats JD! A flood of baby stormchasers looks the go!
 Some nice contrast in those dust photos there too.

I sometimes wonder whether the information age makes us more antsy because we can see how close the rain is and how much we are missing.  If I hadn't been lucky enough to see the storms in SEQLD (sample below) i think i would be pretty nuts about now.  The 8 weeks from mid October to Mid December are so important for a successful NSW season. REcently a few of us have reflected on the glory days where we complained of the stratocu Sydney basin with supercells ripping along the hunter Valley. Ahh memories...



31/21 here.

Dann

[leo76]

Congratulations on the impending arrival Jimmy and sorry about the dismal sized hail. lol

[dann weatherhead]

Some bits and pieces starting to show up on the Sydney radar. 34/21 here in the lower mountains, but that wind has really strengthened from the east - a consistent 10-15km/h. It looks much more unstable today - with the NE injecting some moisture a bit further down, the NW not drying things about the temps being a bit more subdued.

[Kristy Norman]

I just had a good laugh at one of the headlines in The Border Mail today relating to the storm that ripped through Albury yesterday...." 'Cyclone' tears into township "!!!!! C'mon people....It's Albury, inland southern NSW!!!

[Steven]

No whinges here! Just had a phenomenal downpour and some RIPPER lightning bolts briefly taking out the power. I didn't see that one coming but it failed to disappoint!

Steven

[Peter J]

kristy84,

Well if you think that one is bad - try "Mini-Tornado" rips through Marlo (near Orbost VIC) - they (the media) still have a "sit on the fence" approach to storms - it either is a tornado (weak) or not a tornado (wind gusts/gustnado/microburst etc)

Big Pete

PS Been watching a recent storm on radar around Woolongong - it is certainly lightning active - I predict a storm may halt the cricket tonight.

[Michael Bath]

Nice cell creeping into the greater Sydney region. Have not agreed with the trajectories indicated in the BoM STW products so far - certainly heading more NE than any SE or E heading

For people in parts of the
Sydney Metropolitan,
Greater Wollongong and
Wollondilly/Wingecarribee areas.


Issued at 5:17 pm Friday, 23 January 2009.








The Bureau of Meteorology warns that, at 5:10 pm, severe thunderstorms were detected on weather radar near Picton and the area south of Wilton.


These thunderstorms are moving towards the east.


They are forecast to affect Wollongong, Appin and Bulli by 5:40 pm and Waterfall, Helensburgh and Stanwell Park by 6:10 pm.

[Peter J]

MB

It looks like that cell had some horseshoe shape in it when it split in two just west of Helensburgh.

Big Pete

[TroyVR]

Friday 23rd - 6:30 PM

Bass and flinders Point, got to the point and realised id left my camera at home -DOH

heres a few shots from my phone cam which came out half decent for once.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l313/troyrulz007/Photo_0037.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l313/troyrulz007/Photo_0036.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l313/troyrulz007/Photo_0035.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l313/troyrulz007/Photo_0034.jpg