South Australia Experience Severe Thunderstorms With Powerful Wind Gusts and Destructive Hail

The spring season in Australia has begun, but powerful thunderstorms turned one portion of the country into a winter wonderland on Thursday, prompting less intense hazards.

(Photo : Getty Images)

Severe Thunderstorm

On Thursday, severe thunderstorms delivered heavy rain, powerful wind gusts, and serious hail to parts of South Australia, with some areas just near the state's capital of Adelaide receiving so much hail that it looked like a winter wonderland rather than spring.

As storms became more violent late Wednesday into early Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) issued a severe thunderstorm warning for the Adelaide region.

Adelaide escaped some of the severe effects of the storms. The city's northern suburbs, on the other hand, were not so lucky.

Fairview, a northern Adelaide neighborhood, received 0.87 of an inch (22.2 mm) of rain in a very short period of time, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist and Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls.

Given that the region generally receives less than 2 inches (50 mm) of rainfall in October, nearly a month's worth of rain in only a few hours caused some major problems.

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Effects of Flooding

Floodwaters flooded streets and submerged businesses in videos from all across the region. Ice chunks were visible floating in the water on some areas.

South Australia's State Emergency Service has already been dispatched to more than 600 incidences around the state as of Thursday evening local time, according to the agency's Twitter account. 

Stormwater that became blocked by an abundance of tiny hail added to the difficulty for some of these roads.

Small hail touched the ground so heavily that grassland and pavement areas were totally covered. Labor MP Lee Odenwalder, for example, described a sight at a shopping mall as a "winter wonderland" on Twitter.

On Thursday, strong winds blew over the state. That same day, winds averaged more than 37 mph (60 km/h), with speeds reaching 56 mph (90 km/h) at times, according to Nicholls.

Strong winds are suspected to have led to power disruptions in several parts of the state. According to Australia's ABC News, at least eight public schools were forced to close on Thursday afternoon owing to a combination of power outages and water.

(Photo : Designecologist)

Thunderstorm Asthma

In addition to the hazards associated with severe thunderstorms, the storms on Thursday also brought with them a lesser-known threat referred to as "thunderstorm asthma."

On Thursday, the Victorian Department of Health issued the first high-risk notice of the season for epidemic thunderstorm asthma in Victoria, which is located directly east of South Australia. Thunderstorm asthma is likely to be caused by a particular collection of high levels of grass pollen in the air and a certain sort of thunderstorm, according to the CDC.

People with asthma or hay fever may experience severe symptoms as a result of this phenomenon. Australia is in its spring season, which is when strong storms are more common.

The same storm that brought dangerous weather to Adelaide will move eastward towards the end of the week.

"The cold front associated with the storm can produce locally strong thunderstorms between Sydney and Brisbane into Saturday," Nicholls said.

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