Topic: NSW/Qld Severe Hailstorms then Cold/Snow: 19 to 22 of October 2008

[Jimmy Deguara]

I like the image attached here by Kym Collins, of Samford (just NW of Brisbane on 21st Oct) looking towards Jolly's Lookout to the south.

Regards,

Jimmy Deguara

[Mike]

Fantastic image, Jimmy by the contributor.  Looks quite nasty and somewhat foreboding!  May I ask, were there supercells around the Bryon Bay area or were they just severe warned thunderstorms?

[Jimmy Deguara]

Mike, that was from the previous day 21st October in the Brisbane area - from the slide show Harley posted.

Regards,

Jimmy Deguara

[Michael Bath]

Mike - the storm that passed through Lismore and Byron Bay yesterday (22nd) would have been supercellular for some of its track. The same cell can be identified on radar for at least 8 hours (check loop previous forum page).

Article from the Northern Star newspaper today

Northern Rivers hit again by hailstorm
Jamie Brown 23rd October 2008
 

A BLIZZARD of flying hail and roaring wind so loud it masked the sound of a falling tree marked yesterday’s arrival of the storm season.

Scenes of destruction were most obvious just south of Byron Bay, at Suffolk Park, where stripped vegetation littered the ground and the smell of eucalypt and pine wafted in the air.

According to one Tamarind Drive resident, the 10-minute storm was so intense he never heard the sound of a 15-year-old spotted gum as it smashed through his house. “I was on the veranda only a few metres away from where the tree crashed into my house, yet I never head a thing above the roar of hail on my roof,” he said.

Ironically, the tree was due for removal tomorrow.

At the nearby Pinehaven Community Aged Care Centre, hail blocked gutters and drains and heavy rain afterwards leaked through light fixtures in the ceiling.

Acting director of care, Jenny Kinkead, said she had never seen anything like it before.
In Juliet Doty’s Suffolk Park garden all that remained of her hard work were the scent of crushed basil, mint and rosemary.
 
Her tomatoes and paw-paws were stripped bare and large drifts of hail were piled up against her fence a full three hours after the event.

Juliet’s husband Paul was playing golf nearby and had to run for cover as the storm hit, leaving himself and his golfing mates battered and bruised.

Juliet’s neighbour, Marc Browne, said he had never seen so much hail in so short a time.

“It was unbelievable,” he said. “You couldn’t hear yourself think.”

Country Energy linesman Bruce Grosse, based at Ewingsdale, said the storm knocked out power to most of Suffolk Park as high winds took their toll on equipment.

“We were up until 2am on Tuesday night after storms came through our area, and it looks like we’ll be up late again tonight,” he said.

“There’s nothing we can do. It’s just nature.”

McLeans Ridges storm chaser Michael Bath said a cold pool of air in the upper atmosphere and opposing surface winds created ripe conditions for the widespread thunderstorms.

But even the seasoned weatherman, who now works as an early warning manager for an online service, said he was surprised by the duration of yesterday’s wild storms.

What began as billowing cumulous about 11.30am south of Casino was still creating angry conditions well east of Moreton Island nine hours later.

Noel McAviney, of the Byron Bay SES, said they responded to 34 calls after the hailstorm.
Most were from people with broken skylights.

Tabulam, Lismore and Banora Point SES were called to assist with their operations.

Yesterday’s storm was so intense it prompted  SES volunteers working to clear a leaking roof at Pinehaven Aged Care Centre to recall a storm in the early 1980s that literally blanketed Brunswick Heads with hail.

“That storm went on for hours and hours,” recalled one volunteer.

[Mike]

Thanks for that. Interesting article, Michael.  So are experienced chasers now known in the publics eye as 'seasoned weathermen' from now on?

[Michael Bath]

No way to know what they will call you or report LOL. The guy that wrote that piece at least knows a fair bit of weather as I've been informing him over the years.


The satellite sequence from yesterday is quite nice. I haven't put one up from the day before as two critical images were missing from the afternoon.

---> VIS satpic loop




This report from ABC News

Hail storm clean-up underway

Emergency crews on the New South Wales far north coast are busy cleaning up the aftermath of yesterday's severe hail storm.

Reports of hail came from Casino and Lismore, across the coast to Byron Bay and north to Murwillumbah.

Worst hit was Suffolk Park, with hail the size of golf balls and trees falling through roofs and onto fences and cars.

The deputy region controller for the State Emergency Service (SES), Darren Winkler, says the SES has been inundated with calls for help.

"In total we've had 70 requests for assistance. At 12 o'clock last night we still had 30 that had been 'uncompleted', so we'll get to them today. We'll be talking with bureau today but we don't think we'll get any storms this afternoon," he said.

Saint Helena residents says the storm is the worst they have seen in 40 years.

Jan from Saint Helena says her garden is destroyed and windows were broken everywhere.

"There were five of us in a row that have lost windows ... lucky I had a son down here with me for the day and we've boarded the windows all up and at least kept any rain out, but the driveway - it's just pitted ... from the ice, it's nearly pressure cleaned it for me," she said.

[Richary]

Some more video without commentary of the Brisbane storms and hail (nice lightning shots) and the snow in the Blue Mountains.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7683876.stm

[jab_au]

Here some of the aftermath in Suffolk Park, I was in Ballina at the time, got home to green roads, and the smell of eucalyptus in the air.

Been finding Videos on YouTube that people have shot:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=2F665495C4759A99

[Brad Hannon]

A great set of photos of a storm in far west Brisbane 21/10/2008 can be found at:-

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/photogallery/2008/10/21/1224351246724.html

Thats a great link Harley - the structure on that Bris storm looks to have been awesome from those pics.  Would love to see some high res photos of that striated beast!

[enak_12]

Well my Internets been out of action for a week so I'm adding some pics late. The first two are from the 21'st of October, 2.5 cm hail was the biggest it got at my house but I must have only just missed the big stuff considering the Orara Valley is iterally just over the mountain west of me! Was crazy to find out all this happened as without the internet I wasn't following the forecasts and on the day itself the storms looked pretty plain and messy from my perspective see second photo.





These next photos are from the 22'nd of October.. 

[Macca]

Hi all,

A few images from my last two chases are now up on my gallery. 

First link is to the images of the guster from Byron Bay on 21st October...

http://macca.bsch.au.com/gallery2/v/Season+08/211008/


Will post the other in the relevant thread.

Macca

[Mike]

Fantastic images, Macca.  You guys have some fabulous vantage points and it really does enhance the photos of the storms.  Damned if I can find a location here with such foreground and background stuff - am sick of palms as subjects!  Even the structure of your storms is dramatic, low based and gnarly!

[Rodney Wallbridge]

Gyday all , here are a few pics from the widespread hail storms on the 22nd. These were taken a few kilometers east of Lismore at my workplace.A few random stones up to 2.5cm but mostly smaller and heaps of it.