Weekend of heavy rain for NSW coast
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ABC News
an hour ago
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Hail creates snow-like scenes in outback towns of South Australia's far north
Parts of outback South Australia looked more like a scene from a European winter yesterday, after a massive hailstorm covered desert terrain in the state's far north in white. It was a sight rarely witnessed in South Australia, especially so far north — much to the amazement of locals and travellers — as temperatures dropped to freezing levels. Kath Acton lives in the Riverland but has been travelling through the Flinders Ranges for a couple of weeks. "We were driving from Wilpena to Rawnsley and it started hailing so we pulled up," she said. "Then the sound on the roof of the car changed and the drops on the windscreen changed and we all realised we were getting snowed on. "The outside temperature dropped to 3 degrees. It was very cold." The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said the icy white witnessed in the Flinders Ranges and opal mining town of Andamooka was mostly LASH, which stood for large accumulation of small hail. BOM meteorologist Daniel Sherwin-Simpson said light snowfall was possible, but not confirmed. "We did expect to see some thunderstorms up around the Flinders Ranges, [but] we probably weren't expecting the accumulation of small hail that we got, the LASH. "There were also some decent showers up there with some localised flash flooding, so it'll be interesting to see what actually made it into the rain gauge." Mr Sherwin-Simpson said the bureau had not received the data for Andamooka yet. "It can take two or three days," he said. "The highest we saw was Arkaroola, which received 7 millimetres of rain yesterday." In Andamooka, about 20 minutes north-east of Roxby Downs, the hail arrived just after midday, starting lightly before hammering down. The BOM received many hail reports from the town, where local Leila Day said it sounded "like rocks" on the tin roofs. "We weren't really sure it was hail for a minute, then it got thicker and stronger," she said. "[Now] everyone's out making snow angels." Matthew Kathegan, an Andamooka opal miner, was one of those rolling in the hail while others nearby were making snowballs. "I just had to get into it," he said. "I've seen a little bit of hail in the past before, but nothing that piled up that much and made it look like snow. There was snow on roofs and roads, it was absolutely everywhere." He said the hail rained down for about an hour and a half, and it gathered on the ground in little balls the size of "Tic Tacs". But as quickly as the weather event arrived, it was gone — the hail melted and swept out of town — and everything was "back to getting dry again," Mr Kathegan said. "We were lucky to get out there when we did," he said. "I've only been to the snow once in my life, but it really did feel like snow." Snow in the outback is not completely unheard of, with parts of the Flinders Ranges receiving a light snowfall in 2020. However, the BOM does not expect the snow-like conditions to continue. "There could be a couple of showers about the far-eastern border of the state, up around Moomba," Mr Sherwin-Simpson said. "But nothing like the hail we saw yesterday." According to a University of New South Wales study released earlier this week, the frequency of "giant" hail and the number of hail days in a season could increase substantially for multiple Australian cities as the climate warms. Giant hail has been shown to cause substantial damage to cities, with some of Australia's most expensive insurance disasters caused by hailstorms. The BOM issues warnings when hail is over 2 centimetres in size.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
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Lifeguards in shock after rockfall hits Bronte Beach in Sydney
Aussie surfer Christian Gouverneur is on his way to buy a lottery ticket after dodging a dramatic rockfall at Sydney's legendary Bronte Beach. 'I got the day off work, so I went for a surf,' he told NewsWire on Friday. 'I was walking down the stairs, that's exactly where it collapsed. 'I was in the water and I heard the loudest 'bang' in my life. 'I thought Sydney got nuked or something. I turned around and looked and the whole cliff had collapsed.' Mr Gouverneur said he planned to get a haircut and 'grab a lottery ticket on the way'. 'It was fully in the spot where I was walking, so I would have died,' he said. 'People say, 'You dodged a bullet'. And that's what it was. I dodged a cliff falling on my head. 'If I had gotten out of bed 30 seconds earlier, it would be a whole different story. 'I would be under that rock pile. It's pretty surreal. It's the closest I've ever been to death, that's for sure.' The cliff fall happened at noon on the popular beach, which sits just south of world-famous Bondi Beach. In a statement, Waverley Council said a 'significant volume of rock' had fallen onto the beach. 'Waverley Council staff and Bronte lifeguards were on the scene shortly after the incident occurred, establishing an exclusion zone and notifying authorities,' a Waverley spokesman said. 'Assessments are ongoing but it appears sustained heavy rainfall may have contributed to the section of the cliff slipping, beneath which a stormwater drain – or culvert – ran. 'The culvert and a safety rail were badly damaged during the slip.' The council will now conduct a 'geotechnical assessment' to ensure the stability of the cliff area and determine whether the exclusion zone needs to be extended. 'People are asked to avoid the area,' the spokesman said. A lifeguard said Sydney's rainy weather might have prevented any injuries or even deaths. 'Busy day, people would be sunbaking, hanging out underneath the cliff,' he said in a video posted to the bondilifeguards Instagram page. 'We're fortunate it was rainy. No one around except lion supporters.' Bronte Beach is a beloved destination for Sydneysiders and tourists from around the world. Its legendary Christmas Day bash attracts thousands of revellers who congregate on the beach to take in the holiday, with some dressed in Santa Claus costumes.
