Sydney Severe Storms Hail and Rain 25th September 2014 12

0925jd0170925jd001Temperatures in the western suburbs crept up to the mid-20's which provided more than sufficient heating together with moisture to push up towers ahead of weaker early development.0925jd007 As expected, storms did develop in the Sydney region with a cell rapidly developing to the west of Penrith. The storm intensified and headed generally east towards Blacktown. With a decent base, and a couple of photographs from my place, it was time to reposition for time-lapse opportunity. The storm was organising early on the northern side particularly but gradually developed more of a linear configuration complete with developing shelf cloud. Lightning was frequent at times.0925jd020 0925jd025 0925jd030 0925jd032 As the storm neared, my focus was to position into and ahead of the core. With hailstones falling, I attempted to maintain some positioning with respect to the most intense core. Eventually I was able to observe hail in the order of 1 to 1.5cm in diameter. The storm then made more of an easterly push further east towards the coast. Next stop Central Coast. 0925jd046 0925jd066 0925jd067 0925jd075 0925jd087 0925jd091 0925jd095With storms developing near Newcastle and an isolated cell further west near Putty, I set up near Morisset. From here it took some time for this cell to drift closer with intensification to a black core on radar. More cells developed to the east and southeast of the main core of the storm with spectacular rippled base. The storm hit with gusty winds and heavy rain and perhaps a couple of hailstones. Unfortunately, the storm had moderated somewhat by the time it was within reach. So close but not enough! With a last attempt to head in position to get a cell that had developed near Richmond heading northeast, I re-positioned near Gosford. unfortunately, the cells became embedded in a rain complex. Chase was called off and I returned home.

Update: Here is the video of the event in Sydney at least!

One thought on “Sydney Severe Storms Hail and Rain 25th September 2014”
  1. The most interesting aspect of this storm event is for the first time since I have been living at home that an isolated storm developed near the mountains and headed straight for my location – ordinarily at Schofields it made a detour! And this was no exception with only brief hail stones before moving on – Schofields got the edge once more. Acacia Gardens was very near to ground zero in terms of the intensity of this event.

Leave a Reply

s2Member®