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The storm that delivered Ulladulla a glancing
blow was isolated but developed a powerful internal structure that allowed
it to retain strength for over 6 hours as it rode the cold front northeastwards
over open water. The animation gives hourly radar images from 2pm (0400UTC)
to 9pm (1100UTC), but pauses on an image at 3.20pm (0520UTC) when the core
of the storm lay over, and to the east of, Ulladulla. BoM |
 NSW: Major hail
storm hits Ulladulla
Hail ranging from golfball size to larger than tennis balls pummelled the
NSW South Coast town of Ulladulla as an isolated but ferocious thunderstorm
sideswiped
the
town
soon after 3pm.
The storm developed about 2pm just inland from Batemans Bay in the wake of
a relatively innocuous front that passed up the coast an hour or two beforehand
with only scattered light showers. The storm produced
a gust of 87km/h and 13mm of rain at the Ulladulla AWS although, as the radar
animation shows, the main core of the storm was to the east of the town.
The combination of strong winds driving large hail caused extensive damage
to cars, windows and roof tiles. Cars in one street, a local told AAP, had
"all the windows smashed in and the sides (of the cars) all banged up.
There are
dents everywhere." About 20 vehicles at a Holden dealership received about
$80,000 damage, and the dealership's windows were also smashed. The SES received
about 80 calls for assistance with damage and downed trees. Another local observed
that the hail "was so big and bouncy it has damaged cars [that were under
cover] and there is hail everywhere."
 TAS: Snow and
gales follow front
A strong, cold southwesterly airstream followed the front that crossed TAS
during the early morning hours. Light snowfalls were reported during the morning
down to 700m on the Central Plateau and Mt Wellington, and snow was
visible
on Mt
Field from Maydena and on the mountains inland from Dover. A short, sharp shower
gave the Hobart Bureau office in Ellerslie Road 6.0mm in 3 minutes to 9.12am,
causing consternation to Targa Rally cars setting off from the city nearby.
Maatsuyker Island reported a peak wind gust of 154km/h, and at 5.36am was
recording a 10-minute average wind speed of 141km/h. The island's 24-hour average
windspeed
to 9am was 82.5km/h and to 9am Saturday 75.4. Other high gusts were Mt Wellington
summit 130km/h, Cape Bruny 117, Scotts Peak Dam
115,
Hartz
Mountain
111 and
Mt Read 106. Wind knocked out power to about 2800 properties in Dunalley,
Murdunna, Eaglehawk Neck, Port Arthur, White Beach and Nubeena for about 3
hours during the morning, and a tree blown across powerlines cut supplies to
300 properties in the Opossum Bay area near Hobart. The strong winds also whipped
up high seas with the Bureau of Meteorology's Waverider Buoy off Cape Sorell
on the West Coast recording a wave of more than 14m, one of the highest it
has recorded.
WA:
Heavy rain in the Pilbara
A jet stream has been driving a northwest cloudband across the WA NW coast
since Tuesday 26 April. Little rain had been produced until heavy falls
began mid-evening yesterday. This was in response to the development of a trough
in the middle atmosphere which created an area of significant uplift close
to the Pilbara and Gascoyne coasts. Precipitable water estimates for the full
depth of the atmosphere off the Pilbara coast this morning were an unusually
high 55mm. Onslow Airport recorded 54mm between 6pm and midnight last night
for a 24-hour total
of 62.6.
The heaviest
rain
to 9am
fell
offshore,
with Varanus Island picking up 90.8mm and Barrow Island 79.6, 47.0 of which
fell between 9pm and 3am.
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