Wild weather wreaks havoc in Morphett Vale, damaging houses in cold-season tornado
A “cold-season tornado” left a trail of destruction on a Morphett Vale street on Tuesday night – see how the damage compared with four other destructive SA tornadoes.
SA News
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Destructive winds lashed the state overnight, with Morphett Vale in Adelaide’s south bearing the brunt of the wild weather, experiencing what may have been a mini tornado.
The SES received about 30 calls for help as wind gusts of up to 80km/h wreaked havoc. The worst hit suburb was Morphett Vale, where about seven homes were badly damaged on Diamond Street, with roofs caved in and fences broken.
About 10 large trees were ripped from their roots, littering the street with tree limbs and debris and bringing down powerlines. A car in the street was also badly damaged.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Bonnie Hazelgrove said: “All the evidence we can see is leading us to think it is a cold-season tornado ... we (were) seeing good rotations on the radar”.
Resident Steven Laidlaw said he heard a loud explosion, about 9.30pm on Tuesday night, as trees fell on to power lines.
He described the sound like an “aircraft” or a “comet” flying overhead.
“It was very frightening, I wondered what the hell had happened,” he said.
“I came outside and looked across the driveway and this huge tree had come down.”
Mr Laidlaw said the storm toppled a 30-metre tree on his driveway that had been there for at least two decades.
His house received just minor damage, with a few loose roof tiles.
Another gum tree outside his house was completely stripped of its branches.
“I have never experienced anything like this, and I’ve been through storms and that before up in the country.”
Mr Laidlaw praised the good work of SES crews that attended on the night, spending about five hours assisting residents.
The roof on his neighbour Graham Hawke’s house lifted up by a few inches, forcing him to evacuate and spend the night elsewhere.
On Wednesday morning, the property remained taped off by the SES.
City of Onkaparinga council workers arrived just after 8am to dispose of tree limbs scattered across the street.
One resident, Paul, told ABC Radio Adelaide there was a “massive yellow explosion”.
“Yeah it just came out of nowhere – it was freaky,” he said.
“We were just about to pick … a movie on Netflix and then whoosh whoosh, flash, flash, flash, three flashes, brief calmness and the loudest bang I’ve heard in my life and then a massive yellow explosion.
“And my missus was sitting next to me and I grabbed the missus and said ‘get down, we’re under attack’.”
Paul said there was “metal flying through the air and everything”.
“I’m like ‘what is going on out there?’,” he said.
“Honest to God I was fearing for my life – I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Another resident, Dianne Bronsteon, said the noise was “like a freight train”.
“There were just bits and pieces everywhere … it just missed my place, there was no damage here. It’s strange, really,” she said.
Damage caused by destructive winds in Adelaide's Morphett Vale overnight is characteristic of a cold-season tornado 🌪ï¸The damage occurred overnight with heavy showers ahead of a cold front. Video via @G_Polychronis & @theTiser. More about tornadoes: https://t.co/2oRid7KAzb pic.twitter.com/BmEtvgBHE5
— Bureau of Meteorology, South Australia (@BOM_SA) August 18, 2020