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ABC News
4 days ago
- Climate
- 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 days ago
- Climate
- ABC News
Tornado during WA storm front
Long distance, grainy footage of a tornado at Frankland River spotted during storms that struck southern WA on Tuesday.
ABC News
7 days ago
- Climate
- ABC News
Tornado flips car in Frankland River as storms hit southern WA
A tornado has flipped a car and caused minor damage as storms continue to batter southern Western Australia. As thunderstorm warnings were issued across parts of southern WA on Tuesday afternoon, a tornado touched down near Frankland River — about 280 kilometres south-east of Perth. Resident Nathan Macgregor videoed the tornado as it formed from a thunderstorm sweeping across the Great Southern town. Mr Macgregor said he was watching lightning from the storm when a funnel started to appear. "It started about a kilometre away … it's not something you usually see," he said. "I was like, 'Wow, look at that'. The first thing you do is get your phone out and take some photos and video." The tornado left a path of destruction over about two minutes, destroying trees and damaging vehicles. "One of the boys' tractor's roof got ripped off and his ute got tipped over," Mr Macgregor said. Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) duty forecaster Angeline Prasad said while she was surprised there was a tornado, there were severe thunderstorms in the area. Ms Prasad said most people thought of the United States when it came to tornadoes, but this was a different type of system known as a "coldie" — a cold season phenomenon. "It's a rotating funnel as a thunderstorm develops," she said. "They don't last for long, usually just a few minutes … usually associated with quite vigorous thunderstorms." Ms Prasad said the BOM would investigate further. A low pressure system is passing the south of the state sparking wild weather, including for much of the southern half of WA, with several thunderstorm warnings issued including for damaging hailstones. Golf ball sized hail hit the Wheatbelt town of Wagin, with residents reporting damaged roofs and vehicles. Wagin resident Sherryl Chilcott said she ran inside her carport as the hail storm hit. "She came down big time and I was pinned there for a while," she said. "It felt like 15 minutes, but was probably only three to four. It was huge." Residents collected the large hailstones, many of which were oddly spiky-shaped. Ms Prasad said the phenomenon was caused by updraughts drawing hailstones together. "During thunderstorms with vigorous updraughts and downdraughts, some of these smaller hailstones will go through melting and refreezing moments," she said. "They clump together and therefore you get those really oddly shaped larger hailstones falling to the ground." Ms Prasad said the low pressure system would brush close to the coast on Wednesday with heavy showers and potentially damaging thunderstorms. The worst of the conditions will be in the south-west of the state in areas in and around Windy Harboua and Walpole. Ms Prasad said hail and thunderstorms were possible but heavy rain was the biggest threat. "The higher hazard will be heavy falls along lower west, south-west coasts … we could see really good rainfalls totals of 30 millimetres to 50mm, with a possible event total of up to 100mm," she said.
