South Australia weather: From bushfires to heavy hail, SA’s seesawing spring

AFTER a few days of weather extremes that unleashed bushfires and heavy hail within 24 hours, Adelaide is in for a less volatile week.

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AFTER a few days of weather extremes that unleashed bushfires and heavy hail within 24 hours, Adelaide is in for a less volatile week with temperatures in the low 20s and the odd shower.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Sam Slattery said the temperature dipped to 7C in the city at 5am this morning.

“We’re under the influence of a large high-pressure system, so we’re heading for a top of 20 degrees today — 19 at the coast, so Glenelg and Noarlunga, as well as up in the hills,” she told ABC Radio Adelaide this morning.

Hail covers the ground in Angaston. Picture: Alice Howard

“The conditions over the next few days looking quite good, heading for a maximum of 22 tomorrow, 21 on Thursday but then we do have a weak front coming through really late in the day, so we’ve got a possible shower on Friday...”

Friday is expected to dip to 20C before it heats up again on the weekend, with a high of 22C on Saturday and 25C on Sunday.

While the Bureau of Meteorology says this year’s seesawing October weather has been typical of volatile, changeable spring conditions, parts of the state have endured more than their fair share of nature’s wrath.

Hail covers a car at Angaston Primary School. Picture: Sam Lawrence

Alice Howard was among numerous pedestrians in Angaston who had to seek shelter in shops down the main street when a hailstorm blasted the Barossa township on Monday morning.

“It had been super cold all morning with a couple of showers before it started to hail,” Ms Howard said.

“It was intense for about 10 or 15 minutes. Everyone was just staring out of shop windows wondering how they were going to get out.

“Then it all disappeared and the sun was out 15 minutes later.

“It looked like it had been snowing and all the kids got very excited, until they realised how cold it was.”

Despite parts of the state going from bushfire warnings to hail storms in less than 24 hours, Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Brett Gage said it was nothing unusual.

“We always get a lot of cold fronts in spring, it is a very changeable time of the year,” Mr Gage said. “It can go from quite hot to quite cold very quickly.”