2010 Western Australian storms
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Western Australian storms were a series of storms that travelled over south-western Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 on 21 and 22 March 2010. One of the more intense storm cells passed directly over the capital city of Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

 between 3:30pm and 5:00pm on Monday 22 March 2010. It is the costliest natural disaster in Western Australian history, with the damage bill estimated at A$1.08 billion.

The storms brought extensive hail
Hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...

, strong wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...

s and heavy rain, causing extensive damage to vehicles, property and trees, and flash flooding, as well as the first significant rainfall in Perth since 20 November 2009.
The hail stones are the largest ever known to have occurred in Perth and were around 3 cm (1.2 in) – 6 cm (2.4 in) in diameter, which caused extensive damage to property across the city, including schools, hospitals, universities and power infrastructure. Wind gusts were recorded at around 120 km/h (75 mph). At the peak, around 158,000 homes in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

, Mandurah
Mandurah, Western Australia
Mandurah is the second-largest city in Western Australia and is located approximately south of the state capital, Perth.The city attracts a large number of tourists, including many international visitors...

 and Bunbury
Bunbury, Western Australia
The port city of Bunbury is the third largest city in Western Australia after the State Capital Perth and Mandurah. It is situated south of Perth's central business district...

 lost electric power. Telephone lines were cut to thousands of homes until the next day, and the storms led to an estimated A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...

200 million worth of insurance claims within three days, with $70 million within the first 24 hours. It was identified as the most expensive natural disaster in Western Australia's history, and was declared a natural disaster by the Premier
Premier of Western Australia
The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...

, Colin Barnett
Colin Barnett
Colin James Barnett , Australian politician, is the leader of the Western Australian Liberal Party, the 29th and current Premier of Western Australia since the 2008 election and served as the Treasurer of Western Australia in 2010. He was sworn into office by Governor Ken Michael on 23 September 2008...

, allowing federal and state funds to be appropriated for disaster relief.

The storm brought an end to a lengthy dry spell in Perth, with 40.2 millimetres (1.58 in) of rain falling at Mount Lawley
Mount Lawley, Western Australia
Mount Lawley is an inner suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Most of the suburb lies within the Local Government Area of the City of Stirling and small portions are in the City of Vincent and City of Bayswater...

 — the fifth highest daily rainfall recorded for a March day in Perth. Over half of this fell in just 10 minutes. This was the first significant rainfall since 20 November 2009; only 0.2 millimetre (0.0078740157480315 in) had fallen in the entire period. It was similar to storms
2010 Victorian storms
The 2010 Victorian storms were a series of storms that passed through much of the Australian state of Victoria on 6 March and 7 March 2010. One of the most severe storms passed directly over Greater Melbourne, bringing lightning, flash flooding, very large hail and strong winds to the state's capital...

 which struck Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 on 6 March 2010.

Storm timeline

During the warmer summer months, low-level surface troughs normally cross over the west coast of Australia, which often leads to isolated thunderstorm development in inland Western Australia, only occasionally reaching the coast (such as on 20 December 2009, when a storm developed south of Perth and gave the city of Mandurah
Mandurah, Western Australia
Mandurah is the second-largest city in Western Australia and is located approximately south of the state capital, Perth.The city attracts a large number of tourists, including many international visitors...

 2.8 millimetre (0.110236220472441 in) of rain for the month). However on 21 and 22 March 2010, high surface dew point
Dew point
The dew point is the temperature to which a given parcel of humid air must be cooled, at constant barometric pressure, for water vapor to condense into liquid water. The condensed water is called dew when it forms on a solid surface. The dew point is a saturation temperature.The dew point is...

s and temperatures combined with a low to the west of WA caused rare northerly winds to occur. This meant any storms that formed would be pushed southwards instead of the normal easterly pattern.

21 March 2010

Storms formed in the Geraldton
Geraldton, Western Australia
Geraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located north of Perth in the Mid West region. Geraldton has an estimated population at June 2010 of 36,958...

 region during the afternoon, putting an end to the city's fourth-longest dry spell, with 14.6 millimetre (0.574803149606299 in) of rainfall recorded at Geraldton. The township of Badgingarra
Badgingarra, Western Australia
Badgingarra is a small town located in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about north of Perth in the Shire of Dandaragan.It lies on the Brand Highway adjacent to the Badgingarra National Park.-History:...

 (halfway between Perth and Geraldton) bore the brunt of storms on both days, receiving 27.6 millimetres (1.09 in). Storms also developed in inland parts of the Gascoyne, where Cue
Cue, Western Australia
- Further reading:* 'Along the Cue railway. Inspection of line with suggested improvements, visit to Georgina Siding'. West Australian, 11 June 1898, p. 5-External links:* *...

 got over 80 millimetres (3.1 in) of rainfall and Mount Magnet
Mount Magnet, Western Australia
Mount Magnet is an old Western Australian gold rush town. The name was chosen during exploration of the region due to an isolated hill 5 km north west of the town current townsite. This hill has an extremely high iron content and affected the compasses of explorers...

 received 57 millimetres (2.2 in).

22 March 2010

The Geraldton storm moved out towards the coast during the morning, skipping Perth, but not before putting an end to nearby Mandurah
Mandurah, Western Australia
Mandurah is the second-largest city in Western Australia and is located approximately south of the state capital, Perth.The city attracts a large number of tourists, including many international visitors...

's dry spell with 2.4 millimetre (0.094488188976378 in) of rainfall and later Bunbury
Bunbury, Western Australia
The port city of Bunbury is the third largest city in Western Australia after the State Capital Perth and Mandurah. It is situated south of Perth's central business district...

 where 9 millimetre (0.354330708661417 in) fell. Seven pole-top fires cut power to 1,200 homes across both cities.

A severe thunderstorm warning was later declared for the central west (around Geraldton), lower west (including the cities Perth and Mandurah), central Wheatbelt, Great Southern and southern Gascoyne regions of Western Australia at 9.45am. It was amended at 2.30pm to indicate the threat to Perth.

As predicted, storms began to develop in the Jurien Bay
Jurien Bay, Western Australia
-Demographics:At the ABS 2006 census, Jurien Bay had a population of 1,175, which represented over one-third of the total population of the Shire of Dandaragan...

 area around 2pm, bringing another 36.2 millimetres (1.43 in) to an already sodden Badgingarra
Badgingarra, Western Australia
Badgingarra is a small town located in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about north of Perth in the Shire of Dandaragan.It lies on the Brand Highway adjacent to the Badgingarra National Park.-History:...

. At 3pm, the main storm moved over Gingin
Gingin, Western Australia
Gingin is an agricultural town in Western Australia. The town is located north of Perth along the Brand Highway.The town is well suited for agriculture with a mild climate and available water sources...

, dropping the temperature from 26.3 °C (79.3 °F) at 3.06pm to 21.4 °C (70.5 °F) at 3.33pm, and delivering 18.2 millimetre (0.716535433070866 in) to the township. Perth was next in line for the storms, which first hit the northern suburbs around the Cities of Joondalup
City of Joondalup
The City of Joondalup is a council and Local Government Area with City status in Perth, Western Australia. It covers the metropolitan Perth city of Joondalup in its entirety, as well as the town centres of Hillarys and Warwick....

 and Wanneroo, where 62.8 millimetres (2.47 in) fell in two hours at the suburb
Wanneroo, Western Australia
The City of Wanneroo is a Local Government Area with City status, located in the northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. It is centred approximately north of Perth's central business district and forms part of the northern boundary of the Perth metropolitan area.The City's main commercial...

 itself. Hail
Hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...

stones with diameters of 3–5 cm were reported around suburbs like Osborne Park
Osborne Park, Western Australia
Osborne Park is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stirling.Osborne Park was named after William Osborne, a butcher who owned an abattoir on Wanneroo Road and was elected to the Perth Road Board , in 1875.The suburb was originally full of market gardens,...

, Nollamara
Nollamara, Western Australia
Nollamara is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Stirling.The name "Nollamara" is the Aboriginal word for the plant known as the Black Kangaroo Paw.-Transport:...

 and Craigie
Craigie, Western Australia
Craigie is located in the northern suburbs of the Perth metropolitan area. Craigie was chosen as a suburb name in 1970 and honours an early councillor of the City of Wanneroo who did much work in developing the City...

, while 6 centimetres (2.4 in) hailstones were measured in the inner Perth suburb of Wembley
Wembley, Western Australia
Wembley is a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located within the Town of Cambridge. Its postcode is 6014.The main streets in Wembley are Cambridge Street, Harborne Street, Grantham Street and Selby Street. It is an upper middle class, medium-density suburb. Wembley is home to Bold Park...

.

By 4pm, the Perth storm had reached the southern suburbs and damaging wind gusts had been reported at the suburb of Jandakot (96 km/h). Jarrahdale
Jarrahdale, Western Australia
Jarrahdale is a small historic town located 50 km south-east of Perth, Western Australia in the Darling Range. Jarrahdale is a descriptive name, derived from its situation in some of Western Australia's best Jarrah forest...

, to the southeast of Perth, received 44.2 millimetres (1.74 in) in half an hour, exceeding the conditions required for a 1 in 100 year flood in terms of a period from 15 to 30 minutes. However, the storm began to lessen in intensity and become larger, forming a multi-squall line as it moved further south. A second wave of storm activity developed behind the first set, delivering further falls to northern Perth. Around 4.30pm, a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Mandurah and surrounding areas. However, the storm had begun to move further inland, resulting in no hail reported in Mandurah or Rockingham and 17.4/13.4 mm at Garden Island and Mandurah respectively while inland towns such as Dwellingup
Dwellingup, Western Australia
Dwellingup is a town in Western Australia, located in a timber and fruitgrowing area in the Darling Range east-south-east of Pinjarra. At the 2006 census, Dwellingup had a population of 346.-Name:...

 and Waroona
Waroona, Western Australia
Waroona is a town located in the Peel region of Western Australia along the South Western Highway, between Pinjarra and Harvey. The town is the seat of the Shire of Waroona. At the 2006 census, Waroona had a population of 1,864.-History:...

 received 30.2 and 26.8mm respectively.

Building damage

Around 12,000 individual insurance claims were made in the 24 hours after the storms. The damage zone was defined by a loop from Geraldton to Mandurah through Cue, Merredin and Katanning. A week after the storm, the damage bill was estimated to have reached A$650 million, and was still climbing, making it the most expensive catastrophe in Western Australian history. Tens of thousands of cars were damaged by the hail. The cost of fixing the dented panels is high, so that many of these damaged cars end up written off by the insurance companies covering the damage.

Over 100 people were evacuated from apartments near Kings Park
Kings Park, Western Australia
Kings Park is a park located on the western edge of Perth, Western Australia central business district. The park is a mixture of grassed parkland, botanical gardens and natural bushland on Mount Eliza with two thirds of the grounds conserved as native bushland. With panoramic views of the Swan...

 in central Perth after heavy rain cause a large mudslide.

Several high schools in Perth's northern suburbs did not open on 23 March due to extensive storm damage. According to the Education Department there was damage to about 70 per cent of classrooms at Ocean Reef High School. Shenton College
Shenton College
Shenton College is a co-educational Independent Public Secondary school located in Shenton Park, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia.-History:...

, Mindarie Senior College
Mindarie Senior College
Mindarie Senior College is a state senior high school located in the northern suburb of Mindarie, Perth, Western Australia.Flexible hours offer students the ability to experience learning through placements at University, TAFE, or in the workforce. The college offers a wide choice of courses for...

, Duncraig Senior High School
Duncraig Senior High School
Duncraig Senior High School is an independent public high school located 18 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia in the suburb of Duncraig. The current principal is Graeme Smith.- History :...

, Tuart College and Heathridge Primary School were also closed, as was Perth Modern School
Perth Modern School
Perth Modern School is an academically-selective co-educational public high school located in Subiaco, an inner city suburb of Perth, Western Australia.The school, established in 1911, now caters for students with high academic ability....

 for students in years 8, 9 and 10.

See also

  • Severe storms in Australia
    Severe storms in Australia
    Severe storms in Australia refers to the storms, including cyclones, which have caused severe damage in Australia.The first storm recorded in Australia was a shipwreck in 1622.-Australian Capital Territory:...

  • 2010 Victorian storms
    2010 Victorian storms
    The 2010 Victorian storms were a series of storms that passed through much of the Australian state of Victoria on 6 March and 7 March 2010. One of the most severe storms passed directly over Greater Melbourne, bringing lightning, flash flooding, very large hail and strong winds to the state's capital...

  • Climate of Perth
  • Extreme weather
    Extreme weather
    Extreme weather includes weather phenomena that are at the extremes of the historical distribution, especially severe or unseasonal weather. The most commonly used definition of extreme weather is based on an event's climatological distribution. Extreme weather occurs only 5% or less of the time...


External links


Footnotes

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