Warmer weather for early holy day
Stapleton, John. The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [Canberra, A.C.T] 24 Mar 2008: 4.
Show highlighting
Abstract
Duty forecaster at the NSW Bureau of Meteorology Jake Phillips said the main weather feature across the country was a major trough line 500km wide which yesterday stretched from southwestern Queensland and ran down through the far west of NSW into Victoria.
Mr Phillips said with warm air feeding into the trough, the band of thunderstorms and lightning strikes could stretch into tomorrow, bringing scattered but welcome showers across much of the inland of NSW. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued yesterday and the State Emergency Service attended a number of jobs resulting from wind damage in the far western town of Broken Hill.
A non-denominational church service was held in the show’s Big Top Amphitheatre early yesterday, and Ms [Philippa Lampe] said it was “packed out”, with several hundred people attending.
Full Text
THE earliest Easter Sunday in 95 years delivered warm weather across much of the country.
But holiday pilgrims will have a long wait until another Easter takes place so soon after summer — it will be 152 years before Easter falls this early again.
Temperatures in all capital cities reached a maximum in the mid- to high-20s, with many people opting to spend part of the holiday by the beach.
Adelaide was the warmest, with a maximum of 29 degrees. Melbourne reached 28, Brisbane 27, Perth 26 and Sydney 25.
Conditions are expected to be similar today, although with showers expected in every capital city except Perth, which is forecast to be fine and sunny.
In Victoria, a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the Mallee, Wimmera, Northern Country and Western Districts.
Widespread local showers and thunderstorms are expected in many areas for today.
Duty forecaster at the NSW Bureau of Meteorology Jake Phillips said the main weather feature across the country was a major trough line 500km wide which yesterday stretched from southwestern Queensland and ran down through the far west of NSW into Victoria.
“That trough line has been particularly active in respect to thunderstorms, with a fair bit of lightning,” he said.
Mr Phillips said with warm air feeding into the trough, the band of thunderstorms and lightning strikes could stretch into tomorrow, bringing scattered but welcome showers across much of the inland of NSW. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued yesterday and the State Emergency Service attended a number of jobs resulting from wind damage in the far western town of Broken Hill.
The worst affected areas included Deniliquin, Tibooburra, Cobar, Bourke and Wentworth.
However, most of the storms were over remote country, doing little damage and leaving nothing but startled sheep.
Today is expected to be a repeat of yesterday, with the storm conditions moving southward tomorrow. Cloudy and wet conditions are also expected in theSnowy Mountains region.
Warm weather and treacherous surf conditions kept Gold Coast lifesavers busy yesterday. A man drowned on an early-morning swim at Surfers Paradise on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
The 27-year-old was believed to be from nearby Chevron Island and he went swimming shortly after 4am. Twenty minutes later, he was found unconscious on thebeach.
Bumper crowds turned out at the Sydney Royal Easter Show over the holiday.
“We’ve had tens of thousands of people through … a lot of the exhibition halls that sell chocolate did very well,” show spokeswoman Philippa Lampe said.
A non-denominational church service was held in the show’s Big Top Amphitheatre early yesterday, and Ms Lampe said it was “packed out”, with several hundred people attending.