Polar Blast Fri 19 - Fri 26 July

[BigBen]

My sister at Mt Evelyn just told me that the CFA are touring the area informing them all to expect some extremely strong wind gusts, lots of the roads up that way will be closed and they might get gusts up to 140km/hr. I thought that was a bit high but they would know.

[Skywalker]

I can't believe how black it is here, street lights are on and it is pelting down.

[Skywalker]

THUNDER!!

[dagget]

Rain here in the city now

[occluded]

Rain just hit the CBD now. Was VERY impressive watching it roll up the 'canyons' between the buildings

[dagget]

Impressive watching the approach from the west, and seeing the wall approach.

[Leasy]

Long time no post! What a glorious way to end an epic warm Winter - it looks like it's about to drop a bomb here, I'll be happy for even a small storm to round out my time in Melbourne (have been deprived for almost 2 years!!). Very windy and I don't think temps have dropped much here...yet

[Bellarine]

Pretty windy here in Box Hill, could see lightning over the city, very little in the way of rain, the cloud shelf rolling by was most impressive as were the colours on he clouds from the sun

[stevco123]

Watching my weather station from work. Currently showing rain rate of 154mm/h!!!!!!!

Radar shows the worst of the whole system going over my house.

Insane. Wish I was home

[Skywalker]

Looks like my parents at Kilmore & my brother at Wandong are both lined up perfectly with that red line on the radar.

[tre75]

What're you guys talkin' 'bout - its sunny down this way .. heh

[sparra]

A lovely 16mm for us......very wet. The wind is so warm outside....feels more like spring.

[Macedonian]

Sad day for weather in Australia as the new record is false due to the UHI and crappy positioning of the current site. RIP accurate temperatures.

But look at that rain band coming in!!!!!!

Let's go. This hot winter weather has to be replaced by snow in Melbourne City on the weekend. We deserve it.

what did it get to at any nearby sites? still a record i would imagine. i thought that melbs was close to accurate in this northerly weather?

[Macedonian]

heavy rain and thunder,lightning, strong winds here this arvo. stupidly warm temps, up to 14C here today, about 8 above average for mt macedon. i want some winter NOW

[Dane]

Ridiculously warm today 23.3c in the City. all time record Moorabbin just behind that with 23.1c.
I recorded 22.0c which smashed my 12 year record of 18.8c.
It was a really spring like day today with a spring like cool change coming through with squalls and thunder.
Gusted up to 30 knots on my PWS when that came through. Plenty of thunder and lightning too.
This was only the 2nd time that i have confirmed thunder here in Cranbourne in July in the 12 years I have lived here.
The only other time was in 2006.
So far have had 7mm's but it is easing off now.
Very strange day for this time of year.

[Didjman]

18.6mm in the BoM gauge from the front. max temp of 19C here.
Peter

[Geoff]

Blimey, what a day!
Started warm and blustery with a fleeting shower or two, then a few hours of warm sunny weather that wouldn't have been out of place in summer. Followed by blackening skies and distant thunder by 3pm, then the front hit with heavy rain and wind. Gorgeous orange glow at sunset as the weather cleared over Melbourne, but the back edge of the trough had a few stings in its tail up here, violent wind gusts from the N/E ??? and more heavy bursts of rain, I was expecting the wind to back off and turn a little N/W behind the trough, but the airstream is presumably still being drawn in towards the developing low to our west? Finally it seems to be calming down a touch now at nearly 6pm, but still pulsey showers coming down from the north on the back edge over the Dandenongs, it really is taking its time to clear away. 8mm so far here.

[Macedonian]

what are the thoughts on non-alpine snow for saturday? still any chance ?

[Blackie]

Sad day for weather in Australia as the new record is false due to the UHI and crappy positioning of the current site. RIP accurate temperatures.

23.8C at Olympic Park today. Today has been record warm - regardless of the UHI or not. I suspect many to most of the sites in central Vic set early season records today. It is a record hot air mass timed perfectly to break record high temperatures.

Amazing squall line for winter - would have done mid summer proud

Agree the positioning of stations wouldn't have changed today's record results.

What's also feeling weird is that it's 17c in Melb after the squall line.

Loved it coming through this arvo. For a few minutes around 4 it looked like microburst intensity in Sth Melbourne.

[Geoff]

Temperature is going back up here too, now up to 12.3c having fallen to 11c in the rain. Still highly unstable out there, more pulsey showers coming down from the north, could be interesting tonight.
Macedonian, the snow levels I've seen so far are indicating snow down to 800 metres, so you're definitely in with a shout up there!
(Edit; temp now up to 12.4c)