Adelaide hit by rain, hail and ice — and there’s more wet weather to come this week
JUST as we breathed a collective sigh of relief, thinking the worst of winter had passed, the rain, sleet and hail hit with a vengeance. And it’s not over.
JUST when South Australia was breathing a collective sigh of relief that the worst of winter had passed, the rain, sleet and hail hit with a vengeance.
On Monday morning, residents of the Adelaide Hills found their cars, lawns and roads blanketed with hail after a cold front made its way across the state.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Matt Bass said the front had created perfect conditions for the hailstorm.
“The upper atmosphere was very cold, so that caused the hail to form,” Mr Bass said.
“But it was really cold down in Adelaide as well. Hail usually melts before it hits the ground but because it was so cold, it was solid all the way down.
“That’s what caused all those amazing images of what looked like snow in the Adelaide Hills.”
The cold front was yesterday passing over the southern parts of the state, causing localised showers and the occasional thunderstorm.
In Adelaide on Monday, temperatures barely crept above 13C while Mt Lofty had a maximum temperature of 5.5C just before 4pm, its coldest day so far this winter. Wind gusts of up to 72km/h were recorded in Mt Crawford.
Some roads were closed due to flooding while the SES and CFS responded to numerous weather-related incidents across the state.
Another cold front will pass over the state on Tuesday night and more showers are expected.
Tuesday’s forecast top for Adelaide is 14, with rain increasing.
On Thursday and Friday, temperatures are expected to rise to near 20, before a third cold front late on Friday, with cold rainy conditions for the weekend.
Monday’s cold front brought substantial rain across the state but not enough to make a dent in the historically dry winter so far this year.
