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Is there a phenomenon re storms and port phillip bay

Archived topics from the General Weather Discussion board.
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vegemitegirl
Cumulus
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Joined: Tue Jun 22, 2010 11:40 pm
Location: springvale vic

Is there a phenomenon re storms and port phillip bay

Post by vegemitegirl »

I really don't know anything about weather, I only pop in here occasionally to see whether you all think a storm or snow is coming etc. So my question is going to come across as silly and weird.

In this household we called port phillip bay the 'storm Bermuda triangle' because it seems that while watching BOM's radar if a storm is coming from a SW direction it will break up above port phillip bay before it reaches us in springvale. We rarely see good storms here.

Are we imagining this?
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Gordon
Supercell
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Location: Near Gordon, Vic. 620 m asl

Re: Is there a phenomenon re storms and port phillip bay

Post by Gordon »

Hopefully the experts will notice your question vegemite girl, but in case they don't, my inexpert answer would be that it depends on the temperature of Port Phillip, and in particular the relative temperature of the bay compared to the surrounding land. A relatively warm bay would tend to amplify cells as they cross it, while a relatively cold bay could cause them to weaken.

I also imagine that very strong systems (strong fronts, intense lows etc.) probably override any effect that the bay may have. And there are all sorts of other influences, like wind shear, moisture levels, and the temperature at various levels in the atmosphere that would have an influence.

Short answer: sometimes the bay can indeed 'kill' storms as they cross it; sometimes it makes no difference, and sometimes it might actually make them stronger.
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