#SA #Weather #News #CTCorp Weather bureau warns South Australia could experience heaviest rainfall in 30 years South Australia could experience its heaviest rainfall in 30 years, the weather bureau has warned, just hours after authorities announced a bushfire burning north-east of Adelaide had been contained. The weather bureaus John Nairn said up to 200 millimetres of rain was expected in parts of the state, and strong winds and flooding have been forecast. The story is shifting quite substantially now from a fire environment to one in which were worried about how much rain were going to get, Mr Nairn said He said the last time the state has seen such rainfall was in 1984. The rain was expected to develop north of the state near Coober Pedy and travel south towards the eastern Mount Lofty Ranges. Weve got a fresh low that will form late Friday into Saturday out near, say, Cooper Pedy and that low will track south, Mr Nairn said. And as it tracks south it will draw and refocus the very humid air that weve got coming out of the north-east, as well as the tropical air mass thats coming out of the Pilbara and bring the moisture down the ranges and across a reasonably wide area. Up to 30mm of rain has already hit parts of the fire ground and continuing showers and thunderstorms should see that number increase, however the higher falls will be east of the fire ground. Mr Nairn said rain was expected to be fairly continuous in Adelaide during the period. But with easterly winds, the focus will be about the ranges, he said. We could easily see falls in the order of 25 to 50mm in Adelaide itself, but with the focus being on the ranges and to the east of the ranges, that will be where we see our higher falls. The State Emergency Service (SES) warned campers in the Flinders Ranges in the states mid-north should consider leaving before the rain hits. In the 24 hours to 10:00am (ACDT), there have been more than 64,000 lightning strikes across the state, but the lightning was not forecast to continue. While the rain provided some assistance to crews fighting a bushfire north-east of Adelaide, lightning strikes fanned by strong winds sparked about 70 fires across the state yesterday afternoon, but most were quickly extinguished by crews. Winds brought down trees in parts of the state overnight, and the SES said it had more than 70 calls for help with reports of minor flood damage. SA Power Networks said about 20,000 customers have experienced power interruptions due to the storm since yesterday afternoon. Outages have occurred in the Adelaide Hills, Glenelg, along the far west coast, on Kangaroo Island, and in the states far north and south east. Adelaide Hills bushfire 100 per cent contained The 240-kilometre perimeter of the Adelaide Hills bushfire is now 100 per cent contained and the major emergency declaration has been lifted. Premier Jay Weatherill has pledged $1 million worth of assistance, while Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced an Australian per child for bushfire victims who have lost their homes or have had their homes severely damaged by the fires. While the fire has been contained, the Country Fire Service has warned the threat in the area remained with falling trees still a hazard. About 600 firefighters from New South Wales and Victoria who have helped fight the fire will begin returning home today. About 132 people required treatment from SA Ambulance Service and a number of animals and livestock were killed in the fires. Although the bushfire does not pose a threat to life or property at this time, people in the area are advised to check and follow their Bushfire Survival Plan and monitor local conditions. Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing as forensic investigators continue to examine a Sampson Flat property, in particular an area surrounding an incinerator. Source: ABC / Weatherzone Thursday January 8, 2015 - 18:01 EDT © ABC 2015 To ensure you are viewing the latest information please visit: weatherzone.au/news/weather-bureau-warns-south-australia-could-experience-heaviest-rainfall-in-30-years/219659
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 07:30:01 +0000
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