19th December 2004: Western Sydney Squall Line
With the passage of a weak front and a southerly expected along the NSW coast there always going to be some weather to observed this day. Early in the day I had tossed up heading for the Hunter but had settled in watching the cricket (McGrath 8/24) for too long so decided to see what would eventuate in the Sydney basin.
By mid afternoon, with temperatures now in the high 30's, it had became pretty clear on radar that a weak squall line was going to pass over SW Sydney. I jumped in the car and testing out my new e-tag headed through the Harbour Tunnel and onto the M5 hoping to reach the Liverpool area in time for the passage of the line.
As I came out of the M5 tunnel I found that the line had moved a little further than I expected and I decided to exit the M5 to find a vantage point. Quickly scanning the Sydway I decided to head for Chipping Norton Lake in the hope that would give me a wider view of the sky. This turned out to be a good choice and I set up on a rickety jetty sticking out from the Southern shore of the lake.
The squall line was quite thin for most of its length with rain failing accompanied by occasional CG's in a curtain along its length with blue sky visible directly behind it in some places. At the Western end of the visible line the storm was more substantial with more active lightning and more intense rain fall. After about ten minutes the line of cloud moved overhead with CG's dropping down on the opposite side of the lake. Suddenly the trees on the opposite site of the lake where hit by a sudden burst of wind which quickly passed over the lake and I suddenly found my self surrounded by dust and debris as the gust front passed by. I dashed for the car getting there just as the rain started. The rain drove into the side of the car with the force of the wind, accompanied by leaves and other debris picked up by the wind. The wind and rain blew intensely for a further 10 minutes and quite a few branches were blown from trees. With the line passed I headed home and observed some large branches down in Chipping Norton later as I drove home. Light rain continued to fall until I reached the airport, the squall line making an impressive site moving north with clear air left behind in its wake.
Several hours later the southerly change reached Sydney bring with it cooler temperatures.
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