Thunderstorms: More severe weather on the way for New South Wales and Queensland
CAMPERS caught in rising floodwaters have been winched to safety in a dramatic helicopter rescue as new storm warnings are issued for NSW and QLD.
THUNDERSTORM warnings have been issued for areas of NSW and Queensland on Monday afternoon as the wild weather continues.
Residents in both states are facing a wet week with storms bringing rain, hail and thunder that is expected to impact most areas until conditions start to clear this weekend.
A weather warning for NSW issued at 2:53 pm predicted large hailstones and damaging winds in the Northern Rivers, Hunter, Metropolitan, Illawarra, Northern Tablelands and parts of the Mid North Coast, Central Tablelands and North West Slopes and Plains Forecast Districts.
Locations which may be affected include Lismore, Grafton, Taree, Newcastle, Gosford, Wollongong, Nowra, Armidale and Tamworth.
Emergency crews were being brought in from regional areas as Sydney continues to be battered.
In Queensland a warning was issued for damaging wind, heavy rainfall and large hailstones in the Central Highlands and Coalfields, Wide Bay and Burnett, Maranoa and Warrego, Darling Downs and Granite Belt and Southeast Coast districts.
Locations which may be affected include Warwick, Toowoomba, Dalby, Kingaroy, Oakey and Taroom.
Severe thunderstorms were also detected on weather radar near Gatton and Lake Boondooma. These thunderstorms are moving towards the east to southeast. They are forecast to affect Laidley, Rosevale and Grandchester by 1:35 pm and Boonah, the area between Boonah and Beaudesert and the area northwest of Kingaroy by 2:05 pm.
STORMS CAUSE HAVOC
Thunderstorm activity at Sydney Airport continued for the seventh straight day, setting a record for the number of consecutive thunder days at the airport.
“The previous record was five consecutive days of thunderstorm activity,” meteorologist Rob Taggart said. This occured in December of 2007, 1992 and 1955.
However, Mr Taggart cautioned that its records for thunder days were not as robust as its temperature and rainfall records, mainly because someone was required to observe the conditions at all times.
The conditions have created headaches for travellers, especially on Sunday night.
A Virgin Australia spokeswoman told news.com.au that the airline was forced to cancel 13 flights in and out of Sydney on Sunday night due to the storms. Passengers on four of those flights were eventually able to fly out but the others were forced to stay overnight.
“As part of our guest re-accommodation procedures all guests were offered hotel accommodation if they were away from their home port or unable to find alternative accommodation in Sydney,” the spokeswoman said.
“All avenues were explored to ensure minimum impact to guests and Virgin Australia sincerely apologises for any inconvenience caused.”
However, one passenger who had her flight cancelled told news.com.au that staff had refused to provide free accommodation for passengers impacted.
“We were told no one could get accommodation ... one elderly lady was really distressed she was crying, she didn’t have anywhere to go,” the passenger said.
While she was able to stay with family overnight, when she arrived at the airport this morning for her rescheduled flight she said she saw “people who had clearly slept there last night”.
She said the scene yesterday was “chaotic” with passengers being directed from one gate to another before some were informed their flights had been cancelled.
“We expect better service than this in Australia,” she said.
Flights were restricted by Sydney Airport’s curfew that stops planes taking off after 11pm, but those that managed to leave still experienced extensive delays.
Another passenger told news.com.au that she was stuck on a plane for five hours for a flight between Melbourne and Sydney, a journey that usually takes one hour.
The State Emergency Service received more than 1200 calls in NSW overnight, with more 730 jobs generated, a spokeswoman said. The worst hit areas were Ku-ring-gai, Hornsby, Warringah, Camden and Hawkesbury.
Most calls were for roof damage and fallen trees and more than 10,000 homes were left without power on Sunday night.
“I’ve never seen lightning like it,” an SES spokeswoman told AAP.
She said there had been 11 flood-rescues since Friday. In the latest case, seven campers, including two children, have been rescued by helicopter from rising flood waters on the NSW south coast.
Two mothers and two children, aged two and nine, were rescued from rugged bushland near Moruya about 12.45pm today.
The helicopter returned to the site to rescue another three campers from the group.
Three men have elected to stay at the site in the hope of driving their 4WD vehicles out once flood waters recede.
Wild weather is forecast for most of the week, however the Bureau Of Meteorology says it is not expected to be as “intense” as it has been in recent days.
Film fans were also impacted on the weekend with the popular Tropfest short film festival delayed after Centennial Park was evacuated.
A bit of #CloudPorn as we are asked to evacuate metal structures for a few min @cent_parklands @tropfest in 2 1/2 hrs pic.twitter.com/XXNAJ10EsC
— Adam Spencer (@adambspencer) December 7, 2014Well that was refreshing!!! "don't shelter under trees" not as easy as it sounds in Centennial Park #BloodyEverywhere pic.twitter.com/7MHgvSgA9a
— Adam Spencer (@adambspencer) December 7, 2014QUEENSLAND FORECAST
BOM senior meteorologist Pradeep Singh told news.com.au there would be storms and showers for the rest of the week across the state, except for the far south west of the region.
He described the conditions as “slow moving” and said the weather was not expected to clear in most areas until the weekend. Unlucky residents in the northern part of the state will likely experience storms beyond this weekend.
“Thunderstorms and showers will be contracting towards the coastal areas including the Gold Coast over the weekend and will be clearing in inland parts of Queensland.
“Brisbane should be clear on Sunday.”
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services advises that people should:
* Move your car under cover or away from trees.
* Secure loose outdoor items.
* Avoid driving, walking or riding through flood waters.
* Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
* Avoid using the telephone during a thunderstorm.
* Beware of fallen trees and powerlines.
* For emergency assistance contact the SES on 132 500.
NSW FORECAST
Mr Taggart said stormy conditions were expected to continue throughout the week, especially in the northeast third of NSW, including in Sydney.
“We’ve already had storms move through Sydney this morning ... it wasn’t severe and there weren’t many lightning strikes ... but we’re expecting thunderstorm activity again in the afternoon and early evening.”
Conditions should ease on Tuesday but more wild weather is expected to hit on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Stuck at Sydney airport @VirginAustralia flight cancelled and next flight in 13 hours - overnight- no accommodation provided. Great.
— emily davis (@Davis22Emily) December 7, 2014Thunderstorms are causing disruptions @SydneyAirport this afternoon. Passengers advised to check with their airline for further information.
— AirservicesAustralia (@AirservicesNews) December 7, 2014WET WEEKEND
Over the weekend, the sporting arena was also impacted with the final race of the V8 season, the 250 kilometre race at the Sydney NRMA 500, declared based on time due to the wild weather.
The storms were generating a lot of attention on social media, with many shocked yet unsurprised by yet more storms.
Loving these Sydney storms! Getting a bit damp now though @Australia #SeeAustralia pic.twitter.com/A4YMs2hXjJ
— Paul Fleming (@lovethywalrus) December 7, 2014The darkness descends again #SydneyStorms pic.twitter.com/Gow6WfTJRp
— Joe O'Brien (@joeobrien24) December 7, 2014The SES warned people to stay inside, move their car away from under trees and secure loose items and furniture around their homes. It also advised people to unplug computers and appliances and avoid using phones during the storm.
The warning follows days of unpredictable weather across the state, with lightning strikes, high winds and thunderclaps setting in around 6pm each evening.
Another big storm front approaching Sydney tonight, what a week it's been. http://t.co/imaiyGPZy3 pic.twitter.com/ueOYVrWKVX
— The New Daily (@TheNewDaily_) December 6, 2014Some guy in bondi thought it would be funny to take up two car spaces instead of one. Didn't pan out. #strikedown pic.twitter.com/wvZiMezfIR
— Adam Khamis (@adamkhamis) December 5, 2014Storms a brewin' #Bronte #Bondi #SydneyStorm #SydneyWeather pic.twitter.com/NkVXXNFTHl
— Adam Khamis (@adamkhamis) December 5, 2014“We’ve had almost a week of unsettled conditions almost right across NSW,” BOM forecaster Rebecca Kamitakahara said.
“The cause of it broadly has been quite a slow-moving low pressure trough over inland NSW.” She added that this has increased the humidity, leading to the tropical storms.
MORE: See more storm pictures on Roland Taylor’s Facebook page
The sunshine state is also bracing for another drenching a week after a ‘supercell’ caused an estimated $1 billion worth of damage according to Brisbane’s Lord Mayor.
Earlier, waterspouts were spotted in Hervey Bay, while Higgins Storm Chasing posted this video of a funnel cloud to Facebook.
Rebecca Kamitakahara said more unsettled weather was forecast for next week, but won’t be as “intense” as in recent days.
The seven day forecast for Brisbane and Sydney shows possible thunderstorms through to Thursday.
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