Esperance Hailstorm

4 December 2001

The afternoon of 4 December 2001 will long be remembered along the eastern South Coast for a severe hailstorm that caused widespread damage.  The thunderstorm developed west of Ravensthorpe in the early afternoon and tracked to the southeast.  At about 4pm, as it neared the coast, the storm course changed to the east becoming what is known as a left-moving supercell.  The change in direction alerted forecasters who had been monitoring the situation since a Severe Thunderstorm Advice was issued at 10:40 am.  By 4:40 pm, the storm exhibited severe storm characteristics on the Esperance radar while it was still some 140 km away from the town.  Although forecasters were confident that it was a severe storm there were no reports of damage at that stage.  A phone call to rainfall observer Jenny Bingham put us onto Rex and Win Bingham (location denoted by star on map) who confirmed the severity of the storm having received 34mm of rain in 15 minutes.  They also reported seeing areas where trees were stripped bare and hail was 3 inches deep.  At this point the Severe Thunderstorm Advice was updated and the SES, Police and radio stations alerted to the severe storm that was fast approaching Esperance.  The storm appeared to reach peak intensity within 50km of Esperance near Dalyup where hail the size of tennis balls was reported.

Hailstones associated with the severe thunderstorm averaged the size of golf balls, with tennis ball and softball sized hail also reported.  The damage attributable to the thunderstorm was estimated to be $5 million, with the hailstones causing the majority of the damage.  Damage included smashed house windows, damaged roofs, flattened crops, injured and killed livestock, severe motor vehicle damage (windows smashed and bonnets dented).  Lightning strikes caused power outages throughout Esperance for about 3.5 hours and many businesses reported local flooding.

This storm highlighted the importance of reports made soon after a severe storm has passed.  Although radar is our primary monitoring tool in these situations, WA does not have complete radar coverage and radar does not provide details of the weather on the ground.  So if you have had a storm producing damage pass by or hear of one we welcome your report as soon as it is safe to do so by phoning in your report to our tollfree number 1800 802 135.

Track of the Esperance hailstorm, 4^th December 2001

Hailstones from a severe thunderstorm at Esperance, 4^th December 2001