Did tornado bring down huge transmission towers near Cressy?
The mangled wreckage of felled transmission towers that has sent electricity providers scrambling for a solution has fuelled speculation a tornado could have been the culprit. Here’s what the weather bureau has to say.
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The mangled wreckage of felled transmission towers that has sent electricity providers scrambling for a solution has fuelled speculation a tornado could have been the culprit.
Fierce storms rumbled through western and central Victoria on January 31, bringing down six 500kV towers holding important powerlines linking the state with South Australia.
The mind-boggling images of the impact of the severe weather event fuelled speculation in some forums a tornado passed through the area.
Bureau of Meteorology severe weather manager Steven McGibbony said a tornado would have been unlikely in the conditions on the day, putting it down to a “downburst” that thrust strong winds potentially perpendicular to the powerlines.
“A downburst is essentially the core (rain and cold air) of the thunderstorm descending.
“On a really hot day, as the air comes out of the thunderstorm it’s generally cooler, moister air... and you’ve got this cold air descending out of the cloud and because it has the hotter air around it, it’s heavier than the air around it and it forces that downward air to accelerate even more.
“When it hits the ground, it then has to flow outward, which causes these strong gusts at the surface.”
A 119km/h was recorded when the storm passed over nearby Mt Gellibrand, although the storm had weakened by that point according to radar imagery.
The same day a storm that crossed Port Phillip Bay later that day dropped a 146km/h gust, suggesting even stronger winds were possible.
Electricity infrastructure provider AusNet Services is set to start constructing temporary towers on Tuesday, with an aim of having at least one line reconnected by the end of next week.
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Originally published as Did tornado bring down huge transmission towers near Cressy?
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