South coast tornado
Encyclopedia
The south coast tornado was a tornadic
waterspout
spawned by a supercell
thunderstorm
off the south coast of New South Wales
on the 26th of December, 2001, during the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
. The tornado passed very close to the yacht
Nicorette, which was severely damaged but able to complete the race with a spare mainsail
. Nicorette recorded wind speed
s of close to 100 knots (115 mph, 185 km/h, 51 m/s) (making the tornado at least F2 on the Fujita scale
) and was struck by hail
the size of golf ball
s. According to the boat's meteorologist
, the tornado began with a diameter of around 50 meters (165 ft), but grew in size until it was 500 meters (1640 ft) across. http://www.weatherzone.com.au/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=000166 The waterspout proceeded to strike several other boats with weaker winds. http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/sailing/12/27/sydney.spt/index.html The tornado should not be confused with the severe storm that wrought havoc on the race in 1998. http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/editorial.asp?key=551
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
waterspout
Waterspout
A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex that occurs over a body of water and is connected to a cumuliform cloud. In the common form, it is a non-supercell tornado over water. While it is often weaker than most of its land counterparts, stronger versions spawned by mesocyclones do occur...
spawned by a supercell
Supercell
A supercell is a thunderstorm that is characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, continuously-rotating updraft. For this reason, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms...
thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
off the south coast of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
on the 26th of December, 2001, during the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, Australia on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart. The race distance is approximately...
. The tornado passed very close to the yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
Nicorette, which was severely damaged but able to complete the race with a spare mainsail
Mainsail
A mainsail is a sail located behind the main mast of a sailing vessel.On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast....
. Nicorette recorded wind speed
Wind speed
Wind speed, or wind velocity, is a fundamental atmospheric rate.Wind speed affects weather forecasting, aircraft and maritime operations, construction projects, growth and metabolism rate of many plant species, and countless other implications....
s of close to 100 knots (115 mph, 185 km/h, 51 m/s) (making the tornado at least F2 on the Fujita scale
Fujita scale
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
) and was struck by 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...
the size of golf ball
Golf ball
A golf ball is a ball designed to be used in the game of golf.Under the Rules of Golf, a golf ball weighs no more than 1.620 oz , has a diameter not less than 1.680 in , and performs within specified velocity, distance, and symmetry limits...
s. According to the boat's meteorologist
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
, the tornado began with a diameter of around 50 meters (165 ft), but grew in size until it was 500 meters (1640 ft) across. http://www.weatherzone.com.au/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=000166 The waterspout proceeded to strike several other boats with weaker winds. http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/sailing/12/27/sydney.spt/index.html The tornado should not be confused with the severe storm that wrought havoc on the race in 1998. http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/editorial.asp?key=551