Australian Supercell outbreak

This was indeed a very special and amazing outbreak for us over in Australia. As Jimmy and Michael have touched on already we just seem to lack the low level Jets that you guys get so often in the outbreaks across the plains.

December 6, 7 and 8 were indeed great chase days across inland NSW with some very nice Supercells with wallclouds nearly dragging across the ground. However it was the 13th of December that produced something extremely special that I will never forget. An Australian LP Supercell !!



[Broken External Image]:http://sydneystormchasers.com/temp/13dectemp1.jpg


A Full report with a ton of pictures from this day can be found at
http://www.sydneystormchasers.com/2004/dec13.htm

There is also video of the Supercell available via http://www.sydneystormchasers.com/temp/rotation1.wma . The footage has only been increased by 50% normal speed to make the file a little smaller. The rotation in this cell was amazing to watch , just a pity we didnt have that low level Jet to top things off !

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

James
 
That is an awesome video... the rotation and other changes in that storm are really impressive. The pictures on the previous page are nice too -- especially the lightning shot with the shoreline in the foreground and the stars in the background.

Does anyone else have trouble getting their brain to process these pictures of storms from the southern hemisphere? I actually had to copy a couple of them to graphics programs and flip them horizontally before they made complete sense to me :lol: . Do any of you Australian chasers ever come to the US to chase? If so, is it difficult to adjust to different orientations of the storms, or are you used to it from all the great plains tornado video that exists? Maybe its not as different in reality as it seems to me in a still photo.

Blake Allen
 
Does anyone else have trouble getting their brain to process these pictures of storms from the southern hemisphere?
Click to expand...

Yes, it is greatly confusing, like trying to read mirrored text. Its also far worse than driving on the other side of the road. Somebody has a website where they have an aussie supercell and a mirrored image of it right next to it. (was that posted here?) It makes sense after you see the mirrored image but I still cant make heads or tails of the original. I'd need to have the picture labels with cardinal directions and storm movement vectors. That LP is beautiful, by the way. The lack of haze and visibility down there is amazing.
 
Originally posted by Blake Allen
Do any of you Australian chasers ever come to the US to chase? If so, is it difficult to adjust to different orientations of the storms, or are you used to it from all the great plains tornado video that exists? Maybe its not as different in reality as it seems to me in a still photo.

Blake Allen
Click to expand...

I beleive there are a few chasers in Australia who do head over. I had my first USA chase this year in May for a few weeks. No matter how many weeks preparation you do, the northern hemisphere dynamics still gives you a shock when you first arrive. After the first day or two the mindset normally kicks in and things become easier to view, although there were times out in Kansas where I had to stop and think about the dynamics and literally use my hands to get it right when in the heat of the chase !
 
Hi,

Yes James is correct there are a few chasers from Australia who venture to the US. David Croan and I have chased the US over the past 4 years. Check the website for some of our chase reports:

http://www.australiasevereweather.com/stor...s/200105-03.htm

http://www.australiasevereweather.com/stor...s/200105-04.htm

http://www.australiasevereweather.com/stor...s/200105-05.htm

This year David summarised the events particularly this year on the other website:

http://www.thunderbolttours.com/

Anyway, back to the original question: when we went over in 2001, David and I read storm track articles and practiced the visualisation of how shear environments and chasing would be different than the US. But in the end, I just tried to visualise the dynamics required for storms to develop and the direction they would move. Of course the nerve racking experience did not stop there. Try driving on the incorrect side of the road and also having to contend with tornadoes in the US - something not used to over here down under. I think considering these factors, David and I do adjust quite well:) It almost seems like second nature.

Regards,

Jimmy Deguara
 
Originally posted by James Harris
This was indeed a very special and amazing outbreak for us over in Australia. As Jimmy and Michael have touched on already we just seem to lack the low level Jets that you guys get so often in the outbreaks across the plains.

December 6, 7 and 8 were indeed great chase days across inland NSW with some very nice Supercells with wallclouds nearly dragging across the ground. However it was the 13th of December that produced something extremely special that I will never forget. An Australian LP Supercell !!



[Broken External Image]:http://sydneystormchasers.com/temp/13dectemp1.jpg


A Full report with a ton of pictures from this day can be found at
http://www.sydneystormchasers.com/2004/dec13.htm

There is also video of the Supercell available via http://www.sydneystormchasers.com/temp/rotation1.wma . The footage has only been increased by 50% normal speed to make the file a little smaller. The rotation in this cell was amazing to watch , just a pity we didnt have that low level Jet to top things off !

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

James
Click to expand...

Cool mothership James! The rotation is very impressive...It look likes a great sheared condition, looking the powerful positive buoancy of the rotating updraft and striatures.
 
Hi Melissa,

Victoria is an interesting state, meteoroligacaly speaking, as it has a huge variety of weather. Im sure there are a few Vics on this forum that will be able to answer your question even better but in the mean time you can check out the folloing web page which has hundreds of images from across Victoria and specifically Melbourne itself that may give you an idea of what it is like.

http://www.stormchasers.au.com/

From my time in Melbourne they often get "Coldies" during the winter months of May through to September which accompanies a very cold SW airstream. During the Spring and Summer months there are some good storms that develop down there. Those living in the states above Victoria (New South Wales & Quenslanders) tend to have a long running joke about Victorian weather.

One quote from Victorian Chasers sums it up ...... Victoria - Constant drizzle and the occasional tornado.

Hope that helps a little.
 
Hi Melissa,

Hmmmm I have a different, perhaps more realistic view of Victoria and I think James was perhaps being a touch modest:) I'd hate to be given a non-realistic perspective when considering what storms exist in Tornado Alley. If you don't mind mostly low topped storms and occasional decent storm action, then it is the state for you. If you are after regular supercells and regular big action, northern New South Wales seems to be more consistent in producing anything remotely close to what the US has to offer take out the typical tornadoes. Southeast Queensland has the mositure and some good shear to provide great stors also. Yes they do get tornadoes in Victoria and New South Wales for that matter but only occasionl and extremely irregular. Australia gets realtively few tornadoes despite claims of population density.

If you are going to Victoria for touring alone then it has some great scenery, a flat landscape inland and a better road network etc and some nice resturants in Melbourne. I guess if you are heading out that way, certainly enjoy yourself. They are due for some storms as not much has really happened really this season with quite a few storm chasers invading New South Wales during December in particular:)

I guess check out the site provided to you in regards to Victoria and then compare with James own site:

http://www.sydneystormchasers.com

or our site below predominantly chasing in New South Wales

http://www.australiasevereweather.com/stor...news/index.html

Remember our storm season is October to March.

Regards,

Jimmy Deguara
 
Problem for Victoria is it is cut from moisture. Its best exposure to moisture comes from the southwest and then that is still only low dewpoint air.

We have been envious over here in NZ of the storm activity New South Wales gets.

I suspect the highest incidence of torndoes in Australia occurs in the south, notably Victoria, south western Australia. These tend to be associated with polar origin airmasses and likely similar to what California experiences in the winter. :)
 

I suspect the highest incidence of torndoes in Australia occurs in the south, notably Victoria, south western Australia. These tend to be associated with polar origin airmasses and likely similar to what California experiences in the winter.
Click to expand...

Stephen right on from a winter perspective.

From a warm season supercell perspective the verdict is still out though I suspect the northern state stands a better chance based on supercell occurrences alone. The occurences/reports of actual cases alone are insufficient to map a consistent climatological pattern even remotely similar to that of Tornado Alley.

Regards,

Jimmy Deguara
 
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