http://www.nswstorms.com NSW Storms Blog http://www.nswstorms.com/index.html#jan27 Driving into Casino today as a severe storm was rolling into town was eerily familiar – the sky was initially quite reminiscent of driving into the violent supercell which trashed the city in January 2001. While today’s storm wasn’t anywhere near as severe, a large, boiling gustfront descended on the town in similarly spectacular fashion. Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:57 http://www.nswstorms.com/index.html#jan17 After almost 12 months since a good storm chase, January 17 finally delivered! I set out when storms initiated south of Grafton and met up with a friend, Kate, who was joining me for her first storm chase. Things looked grim for probably the first 2 hours we were out there – stuck in the hot sun! We decided to head from Woodburn down to Maclean to at least try and intercept some ok looking storms passing through that area. As we arrived, it became clear new storms were rapidly developing on the outflow from the first round of storms.....check the blog for more! Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:45 http://www.nswstorms.com/index.html A very strong cold front crossing the state whipped up what will probably be remembered as one of the largest dust storms across Eastern Australia in many years. The scene wasn’t quite as dramatic on the North Coast as it was in Sydney earlier in the day, but the contrast between early morning and lunch time was nothing short of incredible....check the blog for more! Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:48 http://www.nswstorms.com/index.html Wow, it’s been almost 3 months since I’ve been on a storm chase. While today didn’t quite match the awesome show I saw on my last storm chase on December 30 last year, it did pack a surprising punch. Things looked really messy visually and on radar, so after stopping for a look at Tregeagle I headed back towards home. As I arrived home, it was obvious the cell was beginning to strengthen, with scud clouds developing and being lifted into an ominous, very green base...check the blog for more! Mon, 16 Mar 2009 23:27 http://www.nswstorms.com/index.html A trough edging very close to the coast produced some incredible storms today. Very powerful updrafts were the order of the day, and an amazing supercell developed in the region near Lismore. I headed out to Tregeagle and watched it build. The power of the updrafts was really something to behold...check the blog for more! Thu, 1 Jan 2009 13:26 http://www.nswstorms.com/index.html A massive and rather violent HP supercell ripped through the region west of Casino this afternoon. I headed out to check out the somewhat lacklustre convection that had developed SW of Casino in the hope something would get organised. On the drive to Casino it became obvious a cell was rapidly organising behind the original convection I was watching....check the blog for more! Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:30 http://www.nswstorms.com/index.html Finally bagged my first supercells of the season today. A strong cap meant convection held off till very late in the afternoon, leaving any storms that managed to develop with the full energy of the day’s heating. And boy did it go off! I was able to head out at 6pm and I wouldn’t have wanted to have left any later! I raced towards a rapidly organising cell near Casino...check the blog for more! Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:30 http://www.nswstorms.com/index.html Another hot one today with rather oppressive humidity, despite the fact there was hardly any sunshine thanks to a deck of mid and high level cloud during the day. As dusk approached however, storms began to develop locally, and although fairly lightning inactive at first, they soon started to produce more frequent flashes...check the blog for more! Sun, 7 Dec 2008 8:00 http://www.nswstorms.com/index.html Today was easily the most frustrated I have EVER felt storm chasing!! I watched a nice lightning active cell from Woodburn earlier in the afternoon, followed by another decent storm which moved over Wollongbar and produced quite a bit of small hail and more great lightning...check the blog for more! Thu, 4 Dec 2008 8:00 http://www.nswstorms.com/index.html A rather strong cold pool pushing through the region helped stir up some pretty full on hailstorms today. While SE winds and loads of moisture at the surface made this a bit un-photogenic, there was still plenty of punch in the storms. I chased a storm that moved in from SW of Lismore, and while it originally looked rather nicely structured while it was S of Casino, by the time it got to me on the outskirts of Lismore, it looked a bit messy. But it still delivered strong winds, torrential rain and tons of hail!...check out the blog for more! Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:48 http://www.nswstorms.com/index.html Today looked like a real giant hail setup, with plenty of instability and good wind shear, however a slight shortage of moisture seemed to kill the chance of any real big monsters around the Lismore region (Woolgoolga copped cricket ball hail though!). I set out mid afternoon to Coraki, watching as two cells which had looked real moisture starved began to strengthen and head on a collision course with each other. At one point, the cell had a massive updraft region and it looked like it could turn into a real hail monster...check out the blog for more! Wed, 22 Oct 2008 8:35 http://www.nswstorms.com/index.html For the first time in what felt like ages, I had a whole day free to chase any storms that were to be had in the region. I headed out after a rather beasty looking storm W of Casino, however it become outflow dominant and turned from a vicious looking monster into something more garden variety before it really got close to my position. Eager to not waste the trip, I drove a fair way NW of Kyogle trying to find the core. Gradually the rain got heavier, the wind got stronger, and the CGs closer, then....bang!...check out the blog for more! Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:25 http://www.nswstorms.com/index.html What a scorcher for September! Over 30C and plenty of humidity as well. While conditions were well and truly primed for severe storms, the focus today was on one of my other great passions – raising awareness of the plight faced by Burma’s refugees and internally displaced people. The 2008 Run For Relief (www.run4relief.org.au) was a fantastic day and a resounding success. It also meant that I was unable to chase the rather impressive hailstorms which went through western parts of the Northern Rivers. But I was so stoked when some amazingly weak looking storm wandered by just south of my place and started dropping cloud-to-ground lightning bolts right on dusk!...check out the blog for more! Sat, 20 Sep 2008 21:11 http://www.nswstorms.com/index.html Who would have thought the first storm chase for spring would be a long lived severe storm! A storm which developed much earlier in the afternoon south of Grafton finally meandered its way up towards Ballina during the evening. Encouraged by an impressive radar signature, frequent lightning and nice rounded base features, I shot down to near Meerschaum Vale to try my hand at some lightning photos, having been a bit out of practice after about a year without great lightning opportunities...check out the blog for more! Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:30