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SEVERE THUNDERSTORM STRIKES THE SUNSHINE COAST - DECEMBER 11, 1999

The system effecting SE QLD and NE NSW Saturday December 11 had the potential to produce widespread heavy (and possibly severe) showers and thunderstorms.  Unfortunately a large cloud band formed over central Australia the previous day associated with a developing upper level system.  This cloud band moved steadily east overnight Friday and during Saturday, preventing any significant surface heating in most of SE QLD.  The cloud cover was somewhat thinner over northern parts however, and during the late afternoon showers and thunderstorms developed north of about Caboulture.  One of these thunderstorms was quite strong, maintaining high intensities on radar as it approached Maroochydore on the Sunshine coast.  The Lightning Tracker was also picking up a significant amount of lightning from this storm.

John Sweatman was in Maroochydore when the storm hit!! Here is his account of the storm.

I was at home at Burpengary looking at large areas of rain on the Brisbane local radar when I noticed a growing thunderstorm cell between Kingaroy and Crows Nest moving steadily east.  As it continued to move towards the Sunshine Coast it also developed and maintained a small area of red indicating an area of peak intensity rainfall.

After watching it develop and move east it suddenly occurred to me thatthis could be worth chasing. I quickly made up my mind and off I went. Itrained all the way from my place to the coast. Because this cell wasembedded in a large rain band the visibility was so low that it wasimpossible to see or photograph the actual storm itself. The only way I had of knowing where to go to punch through it, was the radar before I left.  Judging by the way that it was going I estimated that it would hit in the Caloundra area.

Just before I got to the Caloundra turnoff the rain began to get heavierand I could make out a large area of darker cloud to the north withlightning in it � obviously the storm. I now had to make a decision �whether to turnoff to Caloundra and head along the beach road so as to get in front of the storm before it hit, or keep going north and try to punchthrough it on the Bruce Highway. Because it was moving rather quickly west to east, there was a good chance that it would have moved east off the highway before I got to it, so I decided to outrun it to the coast andheaded for Caloundra. 

When I got to Caloundra, from what I saw it was obvious that the storm was going to hit further north than what I had anticipated - in theMaroochydore area.   In hindsight I would have been better off keeping tothe Bruce Highway and taking the Maroochydore exit. That way I would have been in Maroochydore a lot sooner and would have been there before the storm actually hit and might have experienced some even stronger gusts than what I did when I arrived there when the storm was already right over the top of town.

Anyway, as I was heading north along the coast road from Caloundra I saw many cloud to ground strikes to the north and the rain intensity increased dramatically.

When I arrived at Maroochydore, the storm was at full throttle. Cloud toground lightning was happening very frequently with some strikes having up to 5 pulses. Some strikes hit less than a kilometer from me with very loud crashes of thunder. The rain was so heavy now that visibility was reduced to about 15 metres. At one period the wind gusts picked up to such an extent that the rain was near horizontal and small branches and pieces of cardboard and debris were flying through the air. Flash flooding was occurring everywhere, in fact I drove through half a metre of  water on the main highway through Maroochydore. The lightning had also taken its toll, with many traffic lights out or flashing and the ensuing traffic disabilities.  I did not see any hail however.

The storm lasted for 15 to 20 minutes before returning to normal moderaterainfall. A quick drive around town after the storm did not reveal any realdamage to trees, power lines or properties but there was severe flashflooding and lots of surface water, some of it quite deep.

Although this was certainly not the most severe storm I had been in, it was the best this season so far (for me), and a good ending to a day where I thought all chances of severe storms had been ruined by a big rainband.

There were some heavy totals reported from this storm.  Nambour received 82mm and  Maroochydore 60mm.

There was also widespread moderate - heavy falls of rain in the SE Quarter of Queensland.

Falls over 25mm are listed below
 
 

Darling Downs and
Granite Belt

Cecil Plains  68
Tipton Bridge  63
Clydesdale  49
Possum Park  46
Dalby  45
Miles PO  45
Warkon  42
Bowenville  41
Ellangowan  41
Nobby  40
Hannaford  40
Leyburn  38
Oakey  38
Upper Pilton  37
Cooby Creek Dam  35
Oakington  35
Toowoomba Ap  34
Dulacca  34
Traighli  32
Beruna  31
Mt Kynoch  30
Leslie Dam  28
Karara  25


























Southeast Coast

Nambour  85
Kenilworth  73
Maleny  64
Palmwoods  63
Maroochydore  63
Strathpine  59
Morayfield  56
Lindfield  55
Pt Arkwright  55

Mt Mee  54
Beerburrum  54
Peachester  54
Esk  53
Toogoolawah  51
Pechey  49
Mt Glorious  48
Crows Nest  46
Somerset Dam  42
Gatton  42
Maroon Dam  42
Cape Moreton  38
Lytton  38
Mt Tamborine  37
Wivenhoe Dam  37
Brisbane AP  37
Kalinga  37
Lowood  35
Norwell  35
Sunnybank  35
Macleans Bridge  35
Manly  34
Romani  33
Archerfield  32
Mt Gravatt  32
Logan City  32
Tarome  32
Beenleigh  32
Gold Cst Seaway  31
Redcliffe  31
Lake Cooroibah  30
Oxley  30
Kuraby  30
Cleveland  30
Canungra  29
Amberley  27
Beaudesert  27
Miami  26

Wide Bay and Burnett

Mt Mowbullan  74
Kilkivan  72
Jimna  50
Yarraman  50
Imbil  62
Woolooga  33
Durong South  28
Goomboorian  29










































 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Report by Ben Quinn