Gday everyone! Sorry that it's been a while since I've posted, not much to contribute lately and I've been so busy
The past few days sure have been wild, a sign that we're now moving into the early stages of the spring/summer period when Victoria's weather can turn erratic, even potentially dangerous, as cold air from the south collides with increasingly hot air from up north
I was at Federation Square for the Victorian Welcome Home event for the Australian Olympic Team on Wednesday. Despite the gusty northerlies and the chill, I couldn't help noticing how warm the Sun. Checking the Bureau of Meteorology and Weatherzone websites after I returned to RMIT University, I was so happy when I saw that Melbourne has had its first 20C+ maximum in 13 weeks (21.2C at about 2PM in the City, 21.8C at my house)... Milestone Number 1 for the Warm Season of 2012-2013
And yes Storm Season 2012-2013 is up-and-running. I caught the rainy remnants of a thunderstorm on the night of July 12th-13th 2012 while up in Corryong, but the thunder and lightning stopped well before the storm reached me - still, as far as I'm concerned, that's Storm Number 1 for the season.
Yesterday's storm here in Melbourne (Storm Number 2) would have to be one of the best 'non-cold air' winter thunderstorms I've seen - the best such 'warm-season style' winter thunderstorm for me would have to be July 23rd 2006 (two to three hours of torrential rain, pea-sized hail, lots of lightning including at least three dangerously close CGs in that storm).
I couldn't believe how massive and well-defined some of the cumulonimbus clouds were yesterday, and the amount of clear air there was ahead of the squall line, brought back memories of the November 9th 2011 when the resulting supercell thunderclouds must've been punching 40,000 feet or more, I doubt yesterday's storm clouds were THAT big, but seriously they were very impressive, especially for winter
No stormshield in the Belgrave area where I live, yet another direct/near-direct hit for me. The storm only lasted approximately 10-20 minutes, and the rain was nowhere near as heavy as it was on April 22nd 2012 so no problems with blocked, leaking gutters this time round, a bit of gusty wind and some small (pea-sized) hail too, plus one very close CG and almost-instantaneous thunderclap.
Good thing the storm passed just as I was leaving for a dinner out in Northcote, otherwise I would've had to wait in the rain and lightning at the bus stop. At least I was treated to a gorgeous rainbow when the Sun came out. Plenty more showers and thunderstorms during the train trip from Belgrave to the City but thankfully the activity died off just as I got off at Parliament around 6:30PM to take the 86 RMIT Bundoora Tram to Northcote. The tram was delayed due to traffic congestion from the rain apparently, any reports of flooding and/or wind damage?
I don't have too many pics of yesterday's weather unfortunately as I was busy all day, but what I do have will be on my Flickr soon. Oh and I should mention that there was a beautiful sunrise yesterday morning!
2.1mm of rain at 9AM today, bringing my August 2012 total to 92.7mm. Currently at a rather raw 9.7C