Topic: Dust Storms, Severe Thunderstorms, Wind, Rain & Snow over Southeast Australia: 19 - 27 Sep 2009

[Steven]

Wow, that is surreal by any stretch of the imagination! Especially for Sydney.

Any word yet as to whether the dust is heading north as well? Shall SE QLD see any of the dust at all?

[Shaun Galman]

Upper Western/North West N.S.W. Storm & Dust Report. 22nd-23rd September 2009
Hi guys,
Some very cool photos by all in this thread!
What an amazing weather event indeed! It's a real Mars-scape out there!

We had several, very active storm cells come through our area last night. These were very squally and fast moving. The first signs came around 7:45pm EST with an almighty CG hitting in town. Russ saw this as he was on his way to pick me up. There wasn't even any of the usual pre-storm thunder rumblings to let us know something was arriving. It was just on top of us immediately, so thank goodness for radar!

I counted 8 cells all around us at one point and stars overhead! I managed a couple shots, nothing spectacular. Russ however got a ripper that I missed due to well.. just pointing in the wrong direction lol. It came as a cell swung in from the North then headed South East just beyond town. The updraft tower was really up there for a short period, allowing the CG to pick up pace. I will see if I can persuade Russ to post his photo along with my couple. We stayed out until the storms were on the horizon and too far away to photograph, around 10pm EST.

Rain was very minimal, coming from the first cell. Possibly only 1mm at max.

Now the dust came in thick and fast at 10:50pm EST on the back of the storm front. I didn't dare venture outside with my camera as we all know what how much DSLR's love dust on their lenses and in the camera body
I did look outside now and again and it was even hard to discern the lights in my street.

Still VERY dusty now 10:03am EST. Everything is covered in a film of red dust, even inside our house and it's pretty well sealed up.

Kindest regards,
Shauno
      

[Michael Bath]

Check ths clip from Broken Hill 22/9

Broken Hill comes over pitch black during a dust storm

You'll cop it over SE QLD as well - see the attached VIS image

Full on dust storm here - the most dramatic I've ever seen. Has even dropped the temp 3 degrees since it thickened.

http://australiasevereweather.com/video/webcam.htm

[Karina Roberts (slavegirl)]

Hi all,

Visibility is extremely low here on the gold coast at the moment. I am staying out in the hinterland region and it seems the surrounding hills have been hidden in a shroud of dust, the wind is pretty strong here. I don't think in the 12 years i have lived up on the gold coast i have ever seen a dust storm like this one, all i can see, smell and taste is dust. i hope this all clears soon
karina

[DanTheMan]

A few from here on the Sunshine  Coast

[Shaun Galman]

Hi guys,
Thought I'd post the best photo I managed last night during the small squall line.

Hi MB, boy that Broken Hill dust video is seriously awesome! That would be something to experience. Looks like most of Australia will be a bit lighter! Most of it has blown out to sea lol!

Still very dusty here. Looks like it's far from over.
Take care, (particularly if you wear contact lenses or are an asthmatic)
Shauno.

[Michael Bath]

Nice lightning Shauno - been a while to see any round here !

Have to make do with the dust - which was pretty impressive today - as impressive as dust can be........   Have not had any of that Mars type colour like other areas have but visibility got down to about 150m I guess.   Temp dropped 3 degrees after the thick stuff hit after 10am.   Visibility about 2ks now.

[Antonio (stormboy)]

Hey guys WOW how’s this dust storm I have never seen one in real life just video. Today Wollongbar tafe power got cut off as 4 trees knocked over our powerlines there and it is still out. So I hear that a second band of dust got developed after about 2pm so will tomorrow be the same? No red please! too bad the VIS website is down

stormboy

[Colin Maitland]

Pretty hazy most of the morning and then around 11:00 am the dust really started to role in. Hopefully the sequence of photos will show the progression here in Brisbane. Visibility was fairly poor at its peak. It is still a little dusty but most of it is now on its way to New Zealand according to reports.

Believe it or not, but it is true, I missed the flu all season, then last Thursday I ended up with Swine Flu, so the dust, even with the whole house closed up, was not very pleasant with regards to the respiratory system. ( never coughed so damn hard in my life and flammin painful) I would image a lot of people would have headed for hospital who were worse than me or with asthma.

Col

[Steven]

I shut my windows as I expected the dust to arrive and by 3pm we experienced the full onset of it, and perhaps the worst of it at the time we virtually power walked (covering our faces practically) the 200m to the bus stop. I was running late for an appointment so I got out of it before having to wade through the strong dusty winds again. My eyes watered and stung like crazy and it was slightly difficult to breathe (as you would expect). I should have worn a mask.

[Harley Pearman]

Western Sydney Thunderstorm 22/9/2009

Prior to the event from 5 pm I noted on GPATS that a series of thunderstorms across Eastern / Central New South Wales had produced some 2,040 lightning strikes between 3 pm and 4 pm.

From 6pm looking west from Seven Hills (Western Sydney) a considerable amount of lightning including cloud to ground strikes were observed however by the time the storm reached into the Blacktown / Seven Hills area, the amount of lightning had significantly decreased.

Rainfall increased steadily then ceased but as the main storm cell passed over, a significant downpour passed through the area that brought some strong wind including a brief power loss / fluctuation around portions of the suburb. Rainfall decreased thereafter and had ceased by 7.30 pm.

Rainfall totals were light to moderate including 13 mm at Seven Hills and 12 mm in Blacktown. Generally falls varied between 10 and 14 mm in the Blacktown / Parramatta region. Lighter falls occurred over North East Sydney and places like Mona Vale had no rainfall.

There were limited opportunities to obtain lightning photos where I was due to the wind and rain. My best one is below taken off Hartley Road at International Peace Park - Seven Hills.

 
Harley Pearman

[Harley Pearman]

Dust storm 23/9/2009

So unusual to have an evening thunderstorm only to wake up the next morning and see dust and lots of it. I first thought that it was fog but I soon realized that it was too dry to be fog and it had to be dust.

Arriving at Auburn for work (Western Sydney) after sunrise, I proceeded to take these photos including one at around 7 am.

I remember the 8 February 1983 dust storm at Albury in Southern New South Wales as a boy and this one reminded me of that event.

The photos are taken around Auburn in the Auburn Road, Queen Street and Beatrice Street area after sunrise 23/9/2009.

Harley Pearman

[pingtang]

I have a few video stills(from lightning chasers footage) . Please excuse the very poor quality, i'm only trying to show the very nice structure that was available near Borrowa. This was the storm that tracked over Crookwell delivering the golf ball sized hail.

 

 

Anvil rain was already throwing out ahead of the storm even at this early stage!!!! Alot of the structure may have been obsured by the time this storm got to Crookwell.

[Michael Bath]

The radar loops are impressive for the 22nd Sep. This first one is from Canberra and shows the cell passing over Murrumbateman at 4.50pm. There are reports of a "tornado" from there but probably straight line winds.

128km Radar Loop for Canberra, 03:00 22/09/2009 to 18:00 22/09/2009 UTC


The same cell was seen by Michael King about 5pm  Bungendore:

http://s396.photobucket.com/albums/pp41/upper_level_disturbance/



The broader scale loop shows the cell which hit Crookwell at 3.40pm - that Pingtang refers to - plus a number of other significant cells.

256km Radar Loop for Canberra, 03:00 22/09/2009 to 18:00 22/09/2009 UTC

[Michael Bath]

Galleries of dust storm photos from 23 September 2009:

---> Jimmy's taken at Schofields



---> Michael's taken at McLeans Ridges