New South Wales flooding updates: 'Challenging' weather ahead as flood-hit parts of NSW clean up — as it happened
Floodwaters have receded but almost 100 warnings remain in place across the state's flood zone, although all emergency alerts have now been downgraded.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast challenging weather conditions in days ahead, with a cold front heading to the region.
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ABC News
34 minutes ago
- ABC News
Australia has up to 80 tornadoes a year, but many go unseen
When most people think of tornadoes, it's probably the striking and terrifying images from Tornado Alley in the United States. But did you know Australia records anywhere between 30 and 80 tornadoes each year? The weather events are rarely caught on camera, but earlier this week, several people filmed a tornado as it cut a path across farmland near Frankland River in southern Western Australia. With winds of more than 120kph, it pinned a farm worker against a fence, flipping his ute and damaging a tractor. Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) meteorologist Jessica Lingard said there were two types of tornadoes, with one more violent. "The first are supercell tornadoes and those spawn from supercell thunderstorms, which are the most severe form of thunderstorms," she said. "They result in our warm season tornadoes [and] usually occur during summer months." These are the tornado types that appear in the United States, some of the largest and most damaging in the world. "The other type are non-supercell tornadoes, and these usually occur along the boundaries of two air masses, like a cold front or a sea breeze," Ms Lingard said. This week's tornado in southern WA was the latter type. "Australia experiences somewhere between 30 and 80 tornadoes each year, but it is possible that many more tornadoes occur in the more remote and unpopulated parts of Australia and therefore go unreported," Ms Lingard said. The BOM has recorded rare "tornado outbreaks" in Australia where multiple tornadoes spawn from a single weather system. On September 28, 2016, seven tornadoes hit South Australia, causing mass blackouts. "There's no area in Australia that's more prone to tornadoes, but we do experience different areas of Australia having tornadoes under different circumstances," Ms Lingard said. Supercell thunderstorms, which can produce tornadoes, are most common in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, and develop generally in late spring and early summer. The Enhanced Fujita scale ranges from EF0, the weakest, to EF5. The Frankland River tornado is believed to have been EF0. "Each category has a wind speed range and a list of typical damage patterns that we would expect," Ms Lingard said. She said most tornadoes recorded in Australia were rated between EF0 and EF1. Ms Lingard said a tornado that hit northern NSW in 1970 was considered the strongest on record. Known as the Bulahdelah tornado, it reportedly left a 22 kilometre trail of destruction more than 1.5km wide. "It wasn't officially rated but we estimate from the damage that it was likely to be an EF5 system," she said. "From all reports, it destroyed 1 million trees, and we also saw a 2-tonne tractor lifted up and thrown on its roof." The first tornado documented on camera in Australia was in 1911 near Marong in Victoria. It touched down near the property of a man who happened to have a camera — a rare piece of technology at the time. There are many kinds of tornado-like weather, and they are different. "A waterspout is a non-supercell tornado that occurs over water," Ms Lingard said. "Willy willies or dust devils form on clear days over hot, dry surfaces, and they are rapidly rising hot air, but they are not attached to a cloud over the top." A "cock-eyed" or "cockeye bob", while commonly thought to refer to a tornado or willy willy specifically, is actually Australian slang for any suddenly occurring storm. Ms Lingard said there was no evidence to suggest Australia was experiencing more tornadoes. But she said a growing population, armed with phone cameras, meant the storms that did happen were better documented. "Everyone's got a camera in their back pocket and access to social media to share these events," she said. This seems to be a frustration for meteorologists, with the term "mini tornado" often used in the media. "It's one of those terms that the media love to use. It either is a tornado or it isn't," Ms Lingard said. It may be surprising news, but Ms Lingard said in terms of tornadoes per square kilometre, the United Kingdom recorded the most. "Based on land size, the UK gets an average of about 33 tornadoes each year," she said. But in terms of sheer volume, tornadoes are most common in the US. "The US obviously holds the title of the country with the most overall tornadoes and the most intense, and they report well over 1,000 tornadoes a year," Ms Lingard said.
ABC News
7 hours ago
- ABC News
Fire - Structure Fire - Tereddan Dr, Kilsyth South
Making sense of emergency warnings It doesn't matter where you live in Australia, you should understand what an emergency warning looks like, and what you should do if one is issued for your area.
ABC News
12 hours ago
- ABC News
Snow lovers excited for bumper falls
Nick Grimm: A surging mass of air from Antarctica is bringing an icy blast that will hit south-eastern Australia this weekend, but the wintry conditions are also expected to bring widespread rainfall to areas where communities have been battered by a record dry. The polar chill is also set to deliver promising conditions for the opening of the ski season. For those who like that sort of thing, Luke Radford reports. Luke Radford: The alpine hills are alive with the sound of artificial snow making, but they might not be needed for long because up to 60cm of snow is forecast to fall on Australia's ski resorts this weekend. And early birds are keen to take advantage of it, like Debbie Cadwell and her husband Tim, who are on the road to Victoria's Mount Hotham. Debbie Cadwell: The long weekend, we don't usually expect to have a ski weekend as such. It's more a social weekend. Often there isn't enough snow. But this weekend there is forecast for some substantial snowfalls, which is lucky - sorry that's my husband... Luke Radford: That was my next question. Debbie Cadwell: ... He's very excited. He's an excitable person. Luke Radford: That snowy weather is thanks to a blast of air welling up from the polar regions. The Bureau of Meteorology predicts that despite the cold start, it's actually on track to be a warmer than average winter. But Bureau climatologist Caitlin Minney says that doesn't mean less snow. Caitlin Minney: The warmer than average forecast doesn't rule out the possibility of a good snow season or some really good snow coverage during the snow season. Over this opening weekend, we are forecasting snow across a lot of the alpine regions. Luke Radford: Over the border in New South Wales, resorts are making their final preparations. Jessica Rutherford is the visitor experience manager at Charlotte Pass. Jessica Rutherford: We've got snow on the forecast really close, so it's all looking up. We found that year after year the snow does take a little bit longer to kind of fully hit the ground. So we would rather open with a full resort with full snow coverage than open early just to get the lift spinning but only be able to offer a little bit of the resort. Luke Radford: While the chairlifts spin up at the ski resorts, one at Jindabyne will remain firmly in place. But that's because it's a sculpture which the local community raised $25,000 to purchase. Oliver Kapetanakos is president of the Jindabyne Chamber of Commerce. Oliver Kapetanakos: Chairlifts are synonymous with Jindabyne. We are an altitude town, probably one of the very few places in Australia, I think it's the only place in Australia that uses chairlifts for mountain biking, as well of course to get to the highest point of Australia, Mount Kosciuszko. So to have one in town would be great. I believe it will be the 125th big thing in Australia. Luke Radford: The chance of a good snow season is also good news for Australia's alpine creatures, like the endangered mountain pygmy possum. Dean Heinze is an independent wildlife biologist affiliated with La Trobe University. Dean Heinze: When there's a great cover of snow, the temperatures there are about two degrees. But when that snow cover isn't as good, so it's more patchy or broken up, then the temperatures in those subniveal spaces, that can fluctuate. And what that means is that for a hibernating animal, that makes them uncomfortable and then they wake up out of their hibernation. Nick Grimm: Wildlife biologist Dean Heinze ending that report by Luke Radford and Adrian Reardon.
