Author Topic: Kimberley region thunderstorms  (Read 5755 times)

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Offline Mike

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Kimberley region thunderstorms
« on: 23 August 2007, 03:22:30 PM »
Would anyone like to comment and add some photos of any storms/lightning they may have seen while visiting the Kimberley Region in Western Australia?  They have some spectacular storms there and hopefully some members have visited there and got some storm photos?

It's one place I don't see anywhere the forum has covered!!!

Mike
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Offline Shaun Galman

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Re: Kimberley region thunderstorms
« Reply #1 on: 24 August 2007, 11:57:57 AM »
Nice thoughts Mike, definately a beautiful part of our country! I don't recall seeing any shots from out that way either?

I'd be interested in seeing some storm/lightning shots taken from the Lake Argyle region or from the surrounding area of the Argyle Diamond Mine. It'd also be interesting to try for shots out around the Wolf Creek Crater, not something you see everyday in lightning photos!

Hope to get out there myself one of these days and take shots (in the storm season) fingers crossed :)

Cheers.
Shauno.
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Offline Michael Bath

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Re: Kimberley region thunderstorms
« Reply #2 on: 25 August 2007, 02:29:09 AM »
Radek Dolecki has some pics from that region on his homepage:
http://www.electricskies.com.au/

then click on the link to "north west". Some beauties there !

regards, Michael
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Offline Mike

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Re: Kimberley region thunderstorms
« Reply #3 on: 31 August 2007, 03:36:52 AM »
The Kimberley region CAPE shows high potential for severe storms in the area on a large scale so hopefully someone will get some photos from that region and post them !  I notice also that to the SE of Perth along the start of  the Bight there's severe weather forecast also...

MIke
Darwin, Northern Territory.
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Lightning Research 2010/14

Offline Harley Pearman

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Re: Kimberley region thunderstorms
« Reply #4 on: 08 October 2007, 03:20:04 PM »
Mike

Another interesting topic here.

I have not been into the Kimberley area however, I lived a year in Darwin 1995 / 1996 and visited the area again during the storm season in 1999. I took a decent number of storm photos and even some lightning ones around Darwin / Kakadu and managed to get out around the Top End region. Being in the Katherine region, I was not too far from the Kimberley region. Hence I was relatively close at one time during my stay.

You will find that actual thunderstorms that occur around Darwin and much of the top end will be similar to what the Kimberly region receives (Excluding monsoon bursts and tropical cyclones). They are often pulse type storms. I have to note here that the region experiences a shorter wet season to that of Darwin.

Australian Geographic has also done a good article on Hector (The storm that inhabits Melville Island and the Top End - Edition 48 - October 1997). The whole of the top end storm season is well presented in this article. Further Australian Geographic has done an article on Lake Argyle which I have and there is documentation that waterspouts have been known to occur during storms traversing over this lake.

I have watched numerous satellite photos and loops over the years and have spied storms over this region too.

Daytime storms - General Northern Australia - What I observed:

Daytime storms erupt in the early afternoon, they peak mid afternoon and decay or collapse by sunset. The storms produce heavy rain bursts for a while once mature, with brief strong winds being the downdrafts and cloud to ground lightning for a period. However, the power diminishes in intensity quite fast because they become outflow dominant rapidly. Further, the storm cells in this part of Australia just tease and they barely move. To get good photos of them with contrasts, you need to sit out doors (Under a tree) for a while and photograph the cloud towers just as they mature otherwise the opportunity for good photos will be lost.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to chase many of them due to lack of roads and storms may erupt, mature and decay in as little as 30 minutes.

This worked for me for what I wanted and I managed to capture some beautiful cloud formations this way.

These type of pulse storms are common right across northern Australia especially in the October to December period during the day.

Nightime storms:

Another favoured time for storms is around 11 pm to 4 am. Large overnight storms develop anywhere in the region but again, they do not move far from their initiation point. They develop over a locality and dump copious amounts of rain over a locality / region sometimes causing localised flooding.

I found that more rain seem to fall during the overnight storms than during the day time storms. This causes problems for chasing because flooding of outlying areas is common and outlying roads are impassible for days / weeks depending on how much rain has fallen.

Note - I am not including the impacts of tropical cyclones as I did not experience one while I was in northern Australia.


Harley Pearman


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Re: Kimberley region thunderstorms
« Reply #5 on: 11 October 2007, 07:49:01 AM »
Yeah, true Michael. I love those pics. Quite dark!
The storms up there have no steering mainly, they're just variable.

Glad to join this forum! ;D
« Last Edit: 11 October 2007, 01:10:02 PM by Mike »

Offline Mike

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Re: Kimberley region thunderstorms
« Reply #6 on: 11 October 2007, 01:14:07 PM »
Very true, Harley.

In Darwin where i live we experience a vast range of storm types, except supercells which are only associated with low pressure cyclonic systems or tropical lows passing us (as in March this year).

Hector has been forming every day for the last week. Although he has been weak of sorts and has not shown the deep convection he's known for.  It's just about the only thunderstorm you can see from Darwin of late as the transition period takes shape.

Your post was most informative and well done!
Darwin, Northern Territory.
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Lightning Research 2010/14