Severe weather warning in place for much of SA as the state braces for thunderstorms

With power towers down, Olympic Dam losing operational power and thousands across the state without electricity, the state is on high alert as a severe storm rolls through.

Agnes Gichuhi, Carl Pfeiffer and Dylan Hogarth

2 min read

October 17, 2024 - 10:28PM

Two powerlines have been brought down with severe thunderstorms expected across South Australia on Thursday afternoon begin to set in.

SA News

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BHP will be unable to mine from its Olympic Dam site for at least five to seven days after power towers connected to the operation were knocked out by storms late on Thursday, sources told The Advertiser.

Up to eight towers connected to the mining operation in the Far North were not functioning last night, as vast swathes of the state were hit by thousands of lightning strikes amid warnings of serious thunderstorms.

It is understood BHP had power but not enough to mine.

At one point there were between 500 and 1000 lightning strikes being recorded a minute last night.

Just after 8pm the Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe thunderstorm warning for “damaging, locally destructive winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall” that “may lead to flash flooding”.

The warning applied to the Flinders, Mid North and Riverland and parts of the Adelaide, Mount Lofty Ranges, Eastern Eyre Peninsula,Yorke Peninsula, Murraylands, and North East and North West pastoral districts.

“A deep low pressure system is moving across the south of SA, with a warm and humid air mass ahead of it, supporting the developmentof severe thunderstorms this evening,” the Bureau said.

High winds were recorded including a 137km/h gust at Port Pirie around 7pm, 129km/h at Olympic Dam Airport about 6pm, 113km/hat Tarcoola about 4.30pm and 101km/h at Woomera about 5.45pm.

At 9pm, SA Power Networks said there were 60 outages affecting more than 22,000 customers.

Close to 3500 of those were around Kadina and Wallaroo, with another 2000 around Moonta Bay and Port Hughes. Parts of the Mid North and Riverland were also affected by the widespread outages.

The SES issued a severe weather watch and act message for large parts of the state, saying people’s safety could be threatened. It advised people to stay indoors and away from windows during storms and not to travel “unless absolutely necessary”.

Roanne Scholz posted to social media an ominous picture of storms in the Gawler Ranges. “This is what it looks from the ground. Hail come with it. And it was very tornado-like,” she wrote.

The Whyalla Storm Chasers page posted spectacular images of lightning strikes taken outside the town. The Advertiser attempted to contact BHP for comment.

Thick clouds and Thunderstorms approaching Adelaide with predicted thunderstorms. Picture: Facebook/Chole Hill

Thick clouds and Thunderstorms approaching Adelaide with predicted thunderstorms. Picture: Facebook/Harley Egel

Thick clouds and Thunderstorms approaching Adelaide with predicted thunderstorms. Picture: Facebook/Karlee Marlow

Throughout Thursday

Adelaide was forecasted to reach a top of 30C and a very high chance of showers, most likely from late in the morning, with the chance of severe thunderstorms with up to 10mm of rain to be dumped on the city.

Nuriootpa, in the Barossa Valley, is expecting a top of 28C, and it will be even warmer in the north of the state with Port Pirie expecting 36C with showers increasing, and 43C at Roxby Downs and 42C at Coober Pedy.

Showers are expected to continue into Friday but a cool change will see Adelaide tipped to reach a high of 20C, Port Pirie 22C, and as low as 19C in the South-East at Mount Gambier and Robe and at Nuriootpa.