UQ Atmospheric Observations Research Group

31/10/2020

Strong storms with damaging winds, large hail, and heavy rains are expected in southeast Queensland today including the possibility for a few through Brisbane.

We have a couple hail collection teams out with equipment to store hail samples from these storms until they can be analysed.

Stay safe today and keep an eye on the sky!

27/10/2020

Want to help with storm science? Another bout of potentially severe storm activity is expected today in southeast Queensland and it will give the perfect chance to help!

Help weather and climate researchers by reporting any hail, flooding, wind damage, and strong rain via the WeatheX App. You can also see reports from other users at https://bit.ly/3mmMuVP!

Get the WeatheX app now at https://weathex.app/

27/10/2020

Plenty of rain to be had around Brisbane today with some areas receiving as much as 68mm since 9am this morning with more to come!

27/10/2020

The reduced convective storm parameters around Brisbane have led to storms losing most of their severe characteristics as they move into the area. Some storms with occasionally heavy rainfall periods can be expected, but severe weather isn't looking likely for the city and surrounds at this point.

27/10/2020

As expected, thunderstorms have developed primarily to the north of Caboolture and are slowly moving southeastward. BoM has now issued a severe storm warning for areas to the north of Brisbane (http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDQ21033.shtml). Storm activity will increase this afternoon with severe cells capable of damaging winds, hail, and intense rain.

26/10/2020

There has been a lot of talk about severe weather today, but what is the forecast really indicating?

The best storm environments in all models haven't changed much and are to the north of Brisbane, particularly with a bullseye on Gympie and further north. We have pretty strong cloud currently and it looks like that will continue through the day given the moisture that is being pulled down from the Northern Territory and thick cloud band on satellite imagery. That's going to make storm development challenging as we may not have much surface heating to develop storms around Brisbane (further north should be fine).

If the cloud breaks-up and storms do develop, it's looking like an early show (similar to Sunday) with strong storms developing shortly after noon and continuing through early evening with more isolated cells developing early and then evolving into larger hybrid storms that SEQ is known for. These storms should be moving fairly fast to the southeast given strong (90 knot) upper-level winds.

Expected rainfall amounts (from the ACCESS-C model) between 10am-4pm (pictured) are showing much more storm activity to the north, but the occasional storm making it south of the Brisbane River.

Wednesday is also looking good with more of a focus on Brisbane and the Lockyer Valley.

25/10/2020

Want to help with some storm science?! Download the WeatheX app and report severe weather to help weather and climate scientists. It definitely got some great reports after yesterday's storms that brought heavy rains, strong winds, and hail. But, we always need more!

The coolest part about the app? It was developed by a PhD graduate of our group and the data it collects is being used to do all sorts of severe weather science!

Help climate researchers track extreme weather events in real time. Your reports will appear as markers in the app, along with all the extreme weather events reported by other users in the last 24 hours. The larger the marker, the more recently that event was reported.

14/10/2020

Bushfires have many long-lasting impacts on ecosystems and human activities. A lesser known consequence of bushfire is the alteration of hydrometeorology, which can lead to flooding and long-term changes to streamflow.

This video shows the effects that bushfire can have on soil and its ability to absorb or retain moisture. It's crucial that we continue to develop an understanding of these effects so that we can provide new information for water management strategies in Australia.

Check out the video and then imagine that it's an entire thunderstorm instead of a water bottle!

“With all the fires in California, ever wonder what happens once the fire is out? Take a look at this video taken shortly after the 2016 Sand Fire (near Los Angeles, CA). Fire can substantially reduce the ability of soil to absorb water. https://t.co/QfXfpOzQQC”

01/10/2020

Some hail came out of today's storms, but luckily most of it was rather small.

No further storm activity is expected for Brisbane today, but there's still a severe storm near Caboolture that is moving to the northeast.

01/10/2020

As expected, storms have developed along a surface/upper-level trough and have started moving off the ranges.

There is a chance for some of these storms to become severe with strong winds and large hail as they move eastward.

30/09/2020

Siting is a crucial consideration when installing personal and professional weather stations.

This station, located at the Brisbane Powerhouse, isn't going to be recording accurate or useful data. Why? It is much too close to the wall and that will affect temperature, humidity, rainfall, and wind readings. The wall is also to the west, which means that winds from the dominant direction will not be measured. Finally, the thermometer screen is directly over a steel roof, which really only makes it good at recording the temperatures of the steel roof and not the atmosphere.

27/08/2020

Hurricane Laura is now a category 4 with wind speeds up to 233 km/h and an expected storm surge of 5-6 meters!