Guy Dixon, 23 May 2015, 3:55 AM UTC
An active Autumn for the Hunter
The Hunter has endured a pretty dynamic month or so with three East Coast Lows/Tasman Lows since late April.
If we cast our minds back to April 20th, a strong front and associated trough moved over the southeast and developed into the first and most destructive East Coast Low. East Coast Lows are characterised by a set of features which includes gale force winds, parallel movement to the coast during one stage of its duration and development initiating within 500km of the coast. These systems also typically generate large seas and heavy rainfall, which brought widespread destruction to the Hunter.
Locations such as Tocal received 528.2mm in the month of April alone, which equates to 659% of the monthly average and 56.9% of the annual average. Amazingly, 420.6mm (79.6% of monthly average) fell in just 48 hours. Locations such as Dungog experienced severe flooding with extensive damage to property and tragic loss of life.
If we fast forward to early May, we saw a similar set up, although not as severe or defined. It also didn't meet the criteria of an East Coast Low, so is instead referred to as a Tasman Low. A deep trough and embedded low sat off the coast of northern New South Wales bringing strong winds and heavy rainfall. While the Northern Rivers bore the brunt of this system, the Hunter still collected large amounts of rain with Gosford picking up 84.8mm to 9am on the 3rd of May. The significance of this system was amplified due to how soon it followed the previous low.
The most recent Tasman Low impacted eastern parts of New South Wales yesterday bringing storm force wind gusts to exposed parts of the coast including Wattamolla which clocked a 115 km/h maximum wind gust. Norah Head wasn't far behind with a 93 km/h max gust and a healthy 43mm to 9am at Nelson Bay.
Most locations across the Hunter have already exceeded the average amount of rainfall for May despite not being the end of the month yet. Singleton is currently sitting at 199% of the May average while Murrurundi Gap has received 187%. There is potential for about 10-20mm by the end of the month with a cold front and trough set to sweep across the southeast around Thursday and Friday.
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