SIGNIFICANT WEATHER - FEBRUARY 1998

Introduction Bushfires Cyclones Thunderstorms Wind Temperature Rainfall

INTRODUCTION

During February significant events included flooding in the Queensland Gulf country and near Katherine in the Northern Territory. Thunderstorms occurred in most states during the month and significant bushfires occurred in South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Several locations along the southeast Queensland and New South Wales coasts reported their highest mean maximum temperatures for February.

BUSHFIRES

South Australia

On the 18th several fires were reported in the Western and Southern districts, the largest of which burnt 1700 hectares of grass and scrub north of Kingston in the Lower Southeast.
Between the 24th and 26th very hot and dry conditions on three consecutive days resulted in very high to extreme fire weather across much of the state. Several fires were reported, the most significant being near Marion Bay on Yorke Peninsula and near Angaston in the Barossa.

Victoria

On the 25th a fire burnt 215 hectares near Macedon.

Tasmania

A bushfire, fanned by 70 km/h winds,destroyed a home near Round Hill, Burnie on the 22nd.

CYCLONES

Queensland/Northern Territory

Tropical Cyclone MAY formed in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria early on the 26th and drifted slowly south during the morning towards the Northern Territory/Queensland border. During the afternoon of the 26th, Tropical cyclone MAY turned towards the southeast and crossed the coast southwest of Mornington Island in Queensland as a category 1 cyclone. Tropical cyclone MAY weakened into a rain depression during the evening of the 26th and subsequently moved westwards into the Northern Territory. Flood rains were recorded in the Gulf country near Burketown.

Western Australia

A developing low that had drifted slowly across far northern parts of Australia was named tropical cyclone VICTOR on the 10th while located approximately 350 kilometres northwest of Broome. The system maintained a general westsouthwest track and intensified to be severe topical cyclone VICTOR on the 13th. During the 14th and 15th the system degenerated rapidly as a result of wind shear as it continued towards the middle of the Indian Ocean. Tropical cyclone VICTOR was a very small system with an estimated radius of gales to only 75km/h and had no impact on the coastline of Western Australia.

THUNDERSTORMS

Queensland

Severe thunderstorms produced intense rainfall in the Burpegary, Morayfield and west Sunshine Coast areas to the north of Brisbane during the 16th.

New South Wales

1st - At Blackheath (Central Tablelands) 4cm hail was reported.
4th - Gusts to 104 km/h were recorded at Coonamble (Central Western Plains) and 106 km/h at Dubbo. At Guildford (metropolitan) 30mm of rain in 20 minutes was recorded and 44mm in 1 hour at Armidale.
6th - At Richmond 30mm of rain fell in 20 minutes. Some roads and houses were flooded.
7th - At Condobolin 89 km/h winds were recorded and at Wagga Wagga 119 km/h wind gusts caused property damage and blew trees down over roads. At Griffith, property damage in the Darlington Point/Griffith/Leeton areas was caused by 102km/h wind gusts. At Henty (Riverina)111 km/h wind gusts unroofed houses and uprooted trees. At Thredbo 133 km/h wind gusts were recorded. No damage was reported.
8th - In the Drake/Coraki/Lismore area very heavy rain (66-72mm) fell in 120 minutes.
11th - At Ellangowan (Northern Rivers) 95mm of rain fell in 45 minutes which flooded roads.
12th - At Mt Seaview 2cm hail and 52mm of rain fell in 90 minutes. At Kentucky South 2cm hail, wind gusts to 93 km/h and 36mm of rain was recorded. There was roof damage and trees were brought down and some flash flooding occurred. Rain at Girralong (Mid North Coast) 96mm in 62 minutes and Nymboida (Northern Rivers) 26mm in 20 minutes was recorded which caused flooding to gutters and roads.
15th - Damage due to wind gusts in excess of 89 km/h occurred in a number of Sydney's western suburbs and also on the Pacific highway between Kariong and Gosford. Worst affected areas were Greystanes, Blacktown, Parramatta, Holroyd, Greenacre and Canterbury. A few homes were unroofed, large trees brought down, branches and leaves were stripped by hail. Most damage resulted from trees and branches falling onto houses and across roads. The Pacific Highway was closed due to fallen trees. At Rutherford 2cm hail was reported.
16th - Mylestom ( Mid North Coast)111 km/h wind gusts and 45mm of rain fell in 1 hour. Powerlines were brought down, trees fell across roads disrupting traffic and some roofs were blown off. Some homes were also unroofed at nearby Urunga. At Kentucky South 58mm of rain fell in 20 minutes. At Hawks Nest 139 km/h wind gusts and 41mm of rain fell in 1 hour which caused flash flooding, resulting in gutters overflowing and offices flooding. Trees and powerlines were brought down and roads were blocked. At Keeva (North West Slopes) 92mm of rain fell in 1 hour.

Victoria

On the 2nd severe thunderstorms occurred in the Mallee. Wind damage was reported at Underbool near Ouyen where a roof was blown off. At Swan Hill gusts to 110 km/h were recorded. Trees were damaged and visibility was reduced by blowing dust. Two people were injured by lightning at Torquay.
On the 7th thunderstorms at Alexandra produced gusts to 99 km/h. Trees were blown down and power supplies were disrupted. Severe thunderstorms were also reported in the Northeast at Corryong, Cudgewa and Tintaldra. Buildings were damaged and trees were blown down with winds estimated to be in excess of 100 km/h
On the 16th a water spout which developed over Port Phillip Bay caused some roof damage to the St Kilda light railway station. On the 26th thunderstorms caused water and wind damage in the Geelong and Melbourne areas. The maximum gust reported in the metropolitan area was 115 km/h at Melbourne Airport.

South Australia

On the 6th a severe thunderstorm caused local flash flooding and some tree damage at Kokatha Station (Northwest Pastoral) with 30mm of rain recorded in under 30 minutes.
On the 7th heavy rain closed many roads in the far north of the Northeast Pastoral district. At Moomba 33mm of rain fell in an hour.

Northern Territory

On the 5th a thunderstorm downburst was reported at West Gap in Alice Springs.
On the 6th a slow-moving thunderstorm complex during the early morning caused flash flooding on Cox Peninsula, 20 kilometres west of Darwin. Significant 24 hour rainfalls to 9am on the 6th were 249mm at Wagait Beach and 210mm at Cox Peninsula, 170mm of which fell in 3 hours.
On the 13th a gust of 102km/h was recorded in a thunderstorm at Port Keats.
On the 17th a gust to 94 km/h was recorded in a thunderstorm downburst at Delissaville, 25 kilometres southwest of Darwin.
On the 20th a thunderstorm occurred at Darwin which brought heavy rainfall to the city and northern suburbs. Wind gusts to 65 km/h were recorded at Charles point across the Darwin harbour and 55 km/h at Darwin Airport. Extensive areas around Darwin were hit by power failure.
On the evening of the 26th thunderstorms and heavy rain caused the sinking of a ship off the Top End coast.
On the 27th thunderstorms with lightning at Darwin brought down tree branches which caused power failure to thousands of homes in Darwin and rural areas.

FLOODS

Queensland

Several days of heavy rain towards the beginning of the month caused minor to major flooding in southwest Queensland. Further rain in the northern tropics toward the end of the month resulted in minor flooding in the Barron River.
Ex-tropical cyclone MAY produced very heavy rainfall along the Gulf coast causing major flooding in the Gulf rivers towards the end of the month.

Northern Territory

The Daly River rose to record levels peaking on the 3rd at 16.8 metres, the previous record was 15.9 metres.
To the east of Katherine, the Waterhouse and Little Roper Rivers and Beswick Creek flooded, causing the evacuation of residents. Further downstream the Mataranka Homestead Resort was severely damaged.
To the north, the Ferguson River reached its highest record level and the Edith River washed away the Stuart Highway. The Adelaide, Mary, Wildman and Alligator Rivers all flooded which cut the Kakadu and Arnhem Highways on the 29th and 30th of January.
To the west the Victoria Highway was washed out at the King River and closed at the Victoria River. All the major highways in the Top End were closed at a number of locations causing severe transport disruptions and stranding many travellers between rivers.

STRONG WIND

Tasmania

Gales on the 20th stopped the regular catamaran crossing between Georgetown and Melbourne.

TEMPERATURE

New South Wales

There were nine days with temperatures over 30°C breaking the previous record of eight in 1949. The mean temperature for the month was the highest on record for February with 24.9. The previous highest was 24.5 in 1991.

Highest Mean Maximum Temperature for Any Month

                            Previous             Years of
Station         Actual       Highest     Year     Record
                  C             C     

Western Australia

Wittenoom        42.7          42.6      1/1991      45

Highest Daily Maximum Temperature for Any Month

                             Previous             Years of
Station         Actual  Date  Highest     Year     Record
                  C              C
Queensland

Double Is Pt     35.2    23     34.4  11/57,12/84    38

Western Australia

Mardie           50.5    19     49.2     2/77        42
Port Hedland     48.2    18     47.9  12/54,12/81    49     
Roebourne        49.1    18     48.4     1/85        40

Highest Daily Maximum Temperature for February

                               Previous          Years of
Station           Actual  Date  Highest    Year   Record
                    C              C
Western Australia

Kalgoorlie         44.8    21     44.3     1991      57

Northern Territory

Alice Springs      44.7     2     43.9     1994      56

Highest Daily Minimum Temperature for February

                                Previous          Years of
Station            Actual  Date  Highest    Year   Record
                     C              C
Queensland

Te Kowai Exp       27.5     18     26.8     1992      32
Lady Elliot Is.    27.1     03     27.0     1973      41

Highest Mean Maximum Temperature for February

                            Previous                Years of
Station           Actual     Highest      Year       Record
                     C          C
Queensland

Baralaba           36.1       36.0        1969         31
Sandy Cape         31.6       31.2        1935         90
Amberley           33.1       32.6        1983         58
Double Is. Pt      30.7       30.0        1997         57
Brisbane Aero      30.4       30.3        1962         50
Nambour            30.8       30.7        1997         40
Applethorpe        27.8       27.6        1983         30

New South Wales

Grafton            31.8       31.2        1978         32
Coffs Harbour      28.1       28.0        1991         37
Port Macquarie     27.7       27.4        1925        158
Smoky Cape         29.2       28.6        1991         46
Williamtown        31.1       30.6        1983         56
Bankstown          30.7       30.1        1983         30
Riverview          29.5       28.9        1926         93
Sydney Obs Hill    28.9       28.7        1926        140
Sydney Airport     29.6       29.1        1978         69
Parramatta Nth     31.7       30.2        1983         33
Nowra RAN          28.9       28.8        1991         56

Western Australia

Roebourne          41.9       41.5        1988         77

Highest Mean Minimum Temperature for February

                            Previous                Years of
Station           Actual     Highest      Year       Record
                     C          C
Queensland

Kowanyama          25.5       25.1        1994         31
Richmond           24.8       24.7        1983         90
Cardwell           24.7       24.5        1973         91
St Lawrence        24.1       23.8     1981/1992       59
Clermont           23.7       23.0        1969         83
Springsure         23.0       22.4        1943         51
Longreach          24.7       24.5        1983         32
Winton             25.9       25.1        1969         61
Lady Elliot Is.    25.3       25.1        1940         59
Sandy Cape         24.5       23.9        1940         90
Gladstone          24.3       23.7        1990         39
Double Is Point    23.9       23.5    1946/73/90/91    57
Maryborough        22.8       22.3        1981         91

New South Wales

Riverview          19.9       19.3        1997         93

Northern Territory

Oenpelli           25.4       25.1        1995         33

RAINFALL

Highest Daily Rainfall on Record for Any Month

                                Previous            Years of
Station             Actual  Date  Highest    Year     Record
                      mm            mm
Queensland

Garrabarra           107.6    9    103.6     1959       63

Highest Daily Rainfall on Record for February

                                 Previous            Years of
Station             Actual  Date  Highest    Year     Record
                      mm            mm
Queensland

Silver Plains Stn    206.0   24    162.6     1972       41
Silver Plains Stn    260.0   28    206.0     1998       41
Burketown            366.0   27    215.9     1927      113
Leichardt River      175.2   28    137.2     1953       90
Nardoo Stn           218.4   28    215.9     1927      113
Mt Isa Aero           87.0   28     86.8     1974       33
Wandoan              114.4   10    111.6     1991       44
Miles                119.2    9    115.8     1959      114

Highest Monthly Rainfall on Record for February

                             Previous              Years of
Station            Actual     Highest     Year      Record
                     mm         mm
Queensland

Nardoo Stn          442.4      338.9      1973        35
Silver Plains Stn   941.2      759.5      1972        35

Lowest Monthly Rainfall on Record for February

                              Previous             Years of
Station             Actual     Lowest     Year      Record
                      mm         mm
New South Wales

Cape Byron           64.6       69.2      1986        47
Avalon Beach         15.4       27.2      1964        39
Barnwell Park         0.6        3.3      1939        68
Graham Park          10.4       10.7      1968       111
Montagu Island        0.4        2.4      1978        42

Note: Some statistical records mentioned in this report are based on data that have yet to be fully validated.

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