Townsville weather: Hailstorm reported in Alligator Creek, Nome
Townsville residents were treated to a rare sight on Sunday as isolated hail storms hit the area. Check out the forecast here.
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Delighted Townsville residents were treated to a rare atmospheric phenomenon on Sunday.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said isolated hail storms had been reported in Alligator Creek and Nome to the southeast of the city.
BOM meteorologist Shane Kennedy said hail was “fairly rare” for tropical North Queensland.
“Thunderstorms are always producing ice up higher in the atmosphere, so there is always the potential for hail but it normally always melts by the time it reaches the ground … so it’s unusual that it makes it to the ground,” he said.
He said the size of the hail forming in the “vigorous thunderstorm” and cooler than normal conditions in Townsville on Sunday had resulted in the hailstorm.
“It may happen a handful of times across the tropics as a whole each year, but for any particular spot, it’s pretty rare.”
There was no reported damage from the pea-sized hail.
Speaking at midday Sunday, Mr Kennedy said wet weather hitting North Queensland would continue for the next 24 hours, with potentially much larger showers for Hinchinbrook, Cardwell and Tully.
“We’ve already seen in the past 12 hours or so, about 15 millimetres in Townsville itself and we are likely to probably see … another 10 to 30 millimetres of rainfall across the Townsville region and … Charters Towers.”
He said thunderstorms had been forecast for Hinchinbrook with the potential for rainfall totals of as much as 100 millimetres in isolated parts of the shire and further north to Tully.
“Most of the heavy rainfall should be further north (of Ingham) but there is the potential for falls of in the 50 to 100 millimetres range.”
Mr Kennedy said the unseasonal rainfall was “bad timing” for Hinchinbrook farmers harvesting sugar cane.
He said August rainfall totals for Hinchinbrook averaged just 35 millimetres.
Mr Kennedy said conditions would ease Monday afternoon as the weather system moved south.
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Originally published as Townsville weather: Hailstorm reported in Alligator Creek, Nome
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