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 Fires
continue in TAS
About
40 bushfires continued to burn in TAS today, despite much milder
conditions and easing winds. Temperatures took a nosedive following yesterday's
front: Hobart recorded a maximum of 32.6 yesterday but only 14.1 today. Fifteen
of the fires were in the northeast of the state, including ones at Ranelagh,
Liffey, Dilston, Woodsdale, Cethana, Pioneer, Winnaleah, Eddystone Point
and Blackwood
Creek, and a number close to Launceston. Forest Tasmania believes that most
of the fires in the northeast started from burn-offs escaping from private
property.
State
forests
have been particularly hard hit this weekend with 6,000 hectares
burnt out,
more than was lost in the entire fire season last year. In all 20,000ha of
forest and farmland has been burnt this weekend.
 Widespread
thunderstorms bring heavy rain
Heavy
rain was reported in the west, north and east of the country today
as WA, NT and NSW experienced widespread thunderstorms. In WA,
storms, some severe, occurred in an arc from the Gascoyne to the state's
southeast.
In
the Gascoyne,
Murchison
recorded 19mm to 9am, its highest November 1-day total in 16 years,
while Murgoo recorded
38.6. In the Central West, three stations with rainfall records
going back 70 to 90 years also set new November one-day records (see
records below). In the southeast, Balladonia registered 30.7mm.
During the day the storms moved
east giving
Mt Magnet
14.8 mm
in 14 minutes
just
before 2pm,
Laverton
10.6mm
in 12 minutes to 6pm and Giles 27.4 in the hour to 7pm. Wind gusted
to 91km/h at Meekatharra mid afternoon. In the NT, there were heavy thunderstorm
falls in the north and the south. In about
15
minutes soon after 2pm, Darwin recorded 15.8mm and Middle Point 22.2mm.
Hot,
windy
and stormy in NSW
Storms
in NSW also
produced the first useful rain in a month on the South Coast,
with falls of 20 to 30mm common. Montague Island recorded 46mm between
3 and 9pm.
In
the Central West, wind gusted to 102km/h with a storm around
4.30pm, bringing down trees and powerlines in a swathe
from Dubbo Airport across the southern edge of the city. Farther
north, Coonamble recorded a top gust of 98km/h. In Goulburn, tree branches
blown onto
powerlines around 1.20pm caused the Rocky Hill substation
to close down, blacking out 1,500 homes and causing a power surge
that damaged
scores of electrical appliances. Very heavy rain, stdrong winds
and hail up to 3cm diameter caused minor damage to houses in some suburbs
of Queanbeyan and Canberra. Storm-force wind gusts accompanied a severe
storm west of Tamworth during the evening,
unroofing
a house
in Werris Creek, and blowing down about 20 trees in a row along
the Werris Creek to Quirindi road, narrowly missing a car. Damage to
carports and
sheds was reported in Werris Creek and to windows, trees and sheds
in and around
Murrurundi. 1,500 customers were blacked out in Spring Ridge,
Premer, Blackville,
Colly Blue and the areas west of Werris Creek and Willow Tree.
The highest wind gust at Tamworth Airport was 91km/h at 8.15pm. In
the
Hunter Valley, a bushfire driven by strong winds during the afternoon
threatened houses between Kurri Kurri and Mulbring.
The storms followed an unusually warm night, with high minimum temperature
records falling at Condobolin Ag Station (26.7) and Wyalong (26.0). Both
stations have 38 years of computerised records.
News sources: Examiner, Mercury, ABC, Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Goulburn
Post, Northern Daily Leader (Tamworth) |
