Australian Weather News -- 06 September 2000

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Wednesday 06 September 2000

Heavy snow isolates Tasmanian highlands
Bushfires, heat and dry continue in Queensland 20Sep00
Early season heat in The Centre

Galeforce winds continued and heavy snow fell on Tasmania's central plateaux overnight. At 9am, the depth of level snow at Liawenee on the western shore of Great Lake was 40cm, the greatest depth for many years. Gales and showers of hail were reported across the island and through Bass Straight until a gradual easing took place from mid afternoon as a ridge of high pressure slowly moved in behind the deep low that caused the prolonged wintry spell.

At the other end of the scale, southern Queensland experienced a return to strong, dry northwesterlies late today, pushing a escaped burnoff fire through 4000 hectares of bushland near St George this evening. Two large fires were burning in the Main Range National Park near Cunningham's Gap, southwest of Brisbane, closing the park to the public. Farther south in NSW, fires flared up around Kempsey and north of Coffs Harbour where a fire at Glenugie closed the main Pacific Highway. Another blaze in the Bom Bom and Divine State Forests northwest of Coffs Harbour burnt out 700ha. From the Burnett district northwest of Brisbane comes news that around 95% of the areas crops are failing due to the dry winter weather. In the Kingaroy area, dry weather resulted in only 80% of normal crop planting, with most of that only suitable for feed, bailing or being ploughed in.

Alice Springs experienced its warmest recorded day for so early in Spring today, with a top of 35°. In a record going back to 1940, the highest temperature recorded by this date was 34.1.

Today's highest rainfall totals for the 24 hours to 9am 62.0 Cape Naturaliste WA 51.0 Busselton WA 49.8 Chapman Hill Busselton WA 46.6 Glenmore Busselton WA Other heavy falls in SW WA: 45.6 Rosa Brook Margaret River 41.8 Donnybrook 41.8 Jarrahdale 40.0 Busselton AP 40.0 Bunbury 38.0 Wexham High falls for other periods: Western Australia: Red Rocks Point: 18mm in 1h to 3pm	Today's highest & lowest temps		Other extremes Wind gusts: Rottnest Is WA: 91km/h at 4.47am Oodnadatta AP SA: 10m average of 94km/h at 10.42pm Cape Grim Tas: 104km/h at 1am 10-minute average winds: Forrest AP WA: 81km/h at 3.49pm Oodnadatta AP SA: 94km/h at 10.42pm Records set this day .
	Maximum	Minimum
	39.6 Wave Hill New Station NT	26.9 Timber Creek NT
	-4.0 Crackenback NSW	-9.3 Charlotte Pass NSW
	Greatest variations from normal
	Maximum	Minimum
	+9.7 35.7 Kulgera NT	+7.4 20.0 Giles MO WA
	-6.7 -4.0 Crackenback NSW	-6.6 -0.8 Benalla Vic

Times stated are the clock time in force in the relevant state or territory
Stories, including those in the archives, are as new and corrected information becomes available, with updates underlined
Australian Weather News gratefully acknowledges the Bureau of Meteorology as the collector and main source of meteorological data in Australia, along with the thousands of observers who record the weather and rainfall daily. I also thank Don White, Blair Trewin and the many contributors to the Aussie Weather mailing list who routinely provide much appreciated information.