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STORM CHASING IN AUSTRALIA Storm chasing in Australia is not as predictable nor as productive as in the USA mid-west. Lack of moisture depth is a constant problem, however Australia is no stranger to supercell storms, but tornadoes are very rare. Chasing Australian storms is made more difficult as there is very little in way of technical resources and support to rely upon and you chase on what your eyes tell you. The road network is poor by mid-west standards and there are large areas of country that are simply inaccessible. My chase reports mostly feature storms that would keep most US chasers in bed, but I will chase anything, anywhere, anytime ! I am 55 years old and have been storm chasing and snow chasing since getting my car licence back in 1976. Back then supercells, wall clouds and inflow bands were unheard terms of in Australia. In fact I chased for hail, flash flooding and lightning shows rather than tornadoes, wall clouds or funnels.What is snow chasing? - when you live in an area where you can grow bananas in your garden and snow has never fallen since white settlement, even a drive up onto the southern tablelands hunting that elusive freak fall is a thrill.
OTHER AUSTRALIAN STORM CHASERS Australian Severe Weather - Excellent site with a wealth of information regarding severe weather in Australia, also features photos, storm news, a weather observation guide and lots more. This site is very good for getting the technical information that mine lacks in regard to chase days. Brisbane Storm Site - Photos of Queensland storms, plus an extensive historical database on past severe Brisbane storms. Brisbane Storm Chasers - Great site featuring lots of photos from the Sunshine ( and storm ) state. Downunder Chasing - Some really great photos of Queensland monsters on this site. Inflow Images - Extensive information on Tornadoes in western Australia. Includes spectacular photos of the Northam Tornado. Melbourne Storm Chasers - An active site with lots of content and some great photos - not to mention perhaps the world's only train based chaser. Sydney Storm Chasers - Matt Smith, James Harris and Daniel Weatherhead's ( what a name ! ) great site. South Coast Weather - chaser based on Nowra, about 45 mins south of me - explore and you will find some fantastic photos Storm Planet.com - along with Melbourne storm chasers, David's site should convice even the most die hard of us that Victorian does get storms, and severe ones. Strike One -Lighning Photos - Michael Fewings excellent site, I wish I had these in my collection. Wild Weather World - Kevin Phyland has a
collection of nice storm pics from one of the drier parts of
Australia. SOME OVERSEAS CHASE SITES Storm Track Homepage - An informative US site, presented in a excellent magazine style format. Links to chase logs and photos. Tornado Chase Day - A stunning collection of severe weather photos and educational features. Sam Barricklow's Storm Chase HomePage -Storm chasing, tornadoes, lightning, hail, thunderstorm and severe weather images and reports by SKYWARN Spotter, Storm Shooter, and Storm Seller, Sam Barricklow, K5KJ. Tornado Vortex Signiture - Chasing storms with David Drummond WX5TVS. Scott Blair's Arkansas Weather Watcher Homepage. - some great pictures and recent chases ! The Weather Club - site with an emhasis on severe weather, tornadoes and storm chasing. Le site des chasseurs d’orages francophone - http://www.chasseurs-orages.com or you link to the English site for the French Storm Chasing Community at Thunderstorm Chaser.com
Last update 3rd
November 2012 |
