Hail lashes city as Adelaide records lowest temp around Australia on Thursday

We hope you pulled out your winter coat – hail has lashed the city, while Adelaide has experienced its coldest day of the year.

Hail and thunder briefly struck the Adelaide CBD on Thursday at lunchtime, as city workers and residents out for a bite to eat ran for cover.

A gloomy morning and consistent rain across the city and suburbs paved way for about 10 minutes of hail in the city.

Tabletops resembled ice trays, while gutters and parked cars were sheeted by small hailstones.

The coldest place in South Australia was Coonawarra, which noted a low of 1.3C at 3.19 on Thursday morning.

Just before 1pm on Thursday, Adelaide hit a low of 8.6C, making the city the coldest in the country.

Next chilliest was Hobart and Melbourne at 13.7C and 13.8C respectively.

Adelaide received about 3.2mm of rain between 9am and 1.15pm on Thursday.

The forecast predicted a chilly 16C to descend on the metropolitan area and up to 6mm of rain.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Simon Timcke said Thursday will narrowly beat Wednesday’s chilly low of 16.8C – the coldest day since November 2021.

“We’re expecting it to be colder than it was yesterday (Wednesday) as a sort of colder air pushes the cold front today (Thursday) … and certainly a few days of very cold conditions after that here in Adelaide,” Mr Timcke said.

Adelaide dropped to 7C overnight on Thursday, but areas like Nuriootpa saw temperature lows on 1.9C, and Naracoorte was down to 2.1C.

A sheep graziers’ warning was issued for the Mt Loft Ranges, parts of the Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Flinders, Murraylands, the South East and North Eastern Pastoral district.

Showers will be widespread on Thursday, Mr Timcke said.

The max temp today for #Adelaide reached 16.8°C at 1:11pm today, the coldest day this year. The last time it was a colder day was on 12 Nov 2021 when it reached 15.8°C. Likely to be colder tomorrow with a maximum temperature of around 16°C with showers. https://t.co/UzerF0BPI8

— Bureau of Meteorology, South Australia (@BOM_SA) May 4, 2022

Senior forecaster Vince Rowlands said the weather changes were a “standard” pattern SA experiences around May.

“Once we get through the late part of the weekend and early next week, we start to see the winds going around to a bit more of a northerly, initially in the west, and then eventually across the state as the high moves sort of east of Tasmania,” Mr Rowlands said on Wednesday.

“It sort of sits there, out in the southern Tasman Sea for a while, so we will see temperatures warming up gradually from the west and then across the state early next week.”

People scurry in the rain in October last year. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Brenton Edwards

Rain is forecast across Adelaide until late Saturday, where temperatures are set to creep above 20C early next week.

Friday is set to be another cold day at 16C with about 4mm of rain expected, while Saturday will see 18C as the top and around 1mm of rain.

In the regions, residents and tourists at William Creek have taken a sigh of relief, after flooded roads reopened last Friday and weather remained consistent this week.

Last week, outback roads turned to slush reopened after a concerned community leader called for better planning.

Woomera was lashed with 68.8mm of rain up in the 24 hours to 9am last Tuesday, while Arkaroola received 50mm and Marree Airport recorded 45.2mm.

William Creek’s publican and operator of the town’s Wrightsair airline, Trevor Wright, thanked the state government for their support, and said fuel, gas and food supplies had reached an appropriate level.

“We’re lucky … we were able to get a load of jet fuel and Avgas in yesterday, and also some gas bottles in so we’re surviving at the moment,” Mr Wright said.

He said more work needed to be done to complete repair on the roads, including appropriate signage and drainage.

Pools of water at William Creek after it received 32mm in 24 hours last week. Picture William Creek Hotel

“The real issue is for SA roads to get these roads up and going again considering the huge demand from the travelling public and the locals, that’s our biggest concern at the moment,” Mr Wright said.

“The big thing is just to get this road closures system sorted out.”

Water was continuing to pool in William Creek, Mr Wright said.

“I’ve never seen it so green out here … there’s more water laying around than I expected.”