Willemien Phelan, 24 Mar 2012, 11:18 PM UTC
Heavy storms hit Carnarvon
A thunderstorm that swept through the WA Gascoyne district yesterday brought 39mm of rainfall to Carnarvon, 38mm of this fell in just 30 minutes. The thunderstorm activity also caused wind gusts of up to 70km/h and a temperature drop of 10 degrees, from 30 to 20 degrees in just one hour.
The trough that generated these storms has been intensifying due to cold air in the upper atmosphere. This instability combined with moisture from the Indian Ocean carried towards the trough by strong upper level winds, caused the intense rainfall. The thunderstorms were very localised and short-lived, as the rain stopped shortly after 3pm. Other stations in the western Gascoyne region didn't record as much, Fishy Pool inland of Carnarvon recorded 8mm and Steadmans to the south 5.4mm.
Yesterday's rainfall has brought Carnarvon's monthly average to almost 56mm which is 3.5 times the long term average of 16mm. It is the heaviest rainfall since April last year and the heaviest March rainfall since 2008.
The trough will continue to generate showers and thunderstorms today as it slowly moves inland. These storms could again produce localised heavy downpours and gusty winds.
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