Weatherchase.net

19th-20th January 2005

A long-lived line of thunderstorms developed over the northern outskirts of Adelaide around midnight on the 19th and moved slowly southwards over the metro area. The storms developed in the moist northerlies along a low pressure trough, with help from a sharp upper low that really kicked them off! It was almost a non-stop show of lightning over the city from midnight to 4am on the morning of the 20th.

The BOM at Kent Town recorded 26.6mm of rain, 3.2mm more than the city's average rainfall for the month of January. The storms did produce some very heavy downpours as Edinburgh RAAF Base recorded 20.8mm in the hour to 1.30am while the Kent Town gauge recorded 15.2 in the hour to 2.30am. The heaviest 24 hour totals were in the Adelaide Hills, where Happy Valley Reservoir recorded 33.6mm and Brownhill Creek flood gauge at Hawthorn 33mm. An unofficial gauge at Woodside recorded 60mm. ABC News had a dubious report of hail from golf ball to apple size had fallen, but the SES only reported about 40 callouts to deal with water damage from blocked gutters.

Unfortunately due to the torrential rain and the need for some shelter I was rather limited in my attempts to capture some lightning photographs. The best ones are shown below.

 

12.25am 20/01/05

Line of storms developing north of Adelaide

 2.43am 20/01/05

Radar of heaviest storm over my house (just SE of Parafield)

7pm 19/01/05

Weatherzone MSL
GO HERE for a complete Radar loop of the storms from about midnight to 4am! (Zip file)

 

Satpic approx. 1.30am 20/01/05 MSL 4am 20/01/05 BOM rainfall map