Gales, Southern Australia, 1948 and 1994

Westerly gales are part and parcel of the climate of southeastern Australia during the cooler months, but 1994 was notable for some particularly powerful events, which inflicted severe damage on at least two occasions. Paradoxically, 1994 was otherwise mostly devoid of the strong frontal systems that normally bring winter rains to the southern states. Strong winds were also a major factor in severe bushfires along the eastern seaboard in January 1994. Autumn was extremely dry over most of the country, and by late May the southern states had seen precious little of the rain that normally brings about an “autumn break”. On 23 May, a low pressure system tracked northeast towards the southwest of Western Australia, intensifying dramatically, and accompanied by fierce and sustained winds. Winds gusted over 130km/h, causing widespread damage to buildings, and extensive power failures. Insurance claims in Perth reached $38 million, an extraordinary toll for a midlatitude storm.

The deep low pressure system then rolled southeast, and the fierce westerly gales on its northern flank inflicted widespread damage in southern and southeastern Australia over the next three days. The exceptional winds combined with drought led to widespread dust-storms in South Australia, and northwestern and central Victoria. Some $40 million worth of topsoil was quickly stripped from South Australia’s arable lands, and scattered over the southeast and out to sea. Bushfires also broke out over South Australia on the 25th, a rare event for late May.

In the final act, on 6-7 November, storm-force southwest winds caused extensive damage in southeastern Australia, again raising dust-storms inland and fanning fires in the Brisbane-Gold Coast area. The strongest recorded wind-gust was 152km/h on the Victorian coast, which is comparable with peak wind-gusts in many of the feared tropical cyclones that affect Australia’s northern shores.

An even bigger event, arguably the “storm of the Century” in South Australia, was the infamous “hurricane” of 11 April 1948. Sustained winds in excess of gale force (more than 63km/h) lashed Adelaide and the southern coast of South Australia for 12 hours. The storm was accompanied by an extraordinary storm surge, with water levels metres above normal, and also by huge waves. The old Glenelg jetty, a popular promenade on warm summer days since 1859, was unable to cope with the sustained onslaught, and was destroyed. The fine, white sands of Glenelg beach were largely swept away, leaving the bedrock exposed.

The pier and foreshore at Glenelg (South Australia) on a calm summer day in 1936 (left), and the same scene (right) beset by huge waves and storm surges during the April 1948 gales (photos courtesy of the Adelaide Advertiser).

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