Katoomba’s Golf Ball Hail Storm
An intense thunderstorm on Wednesday 23rd January 2019 from 2:30pm dumped golf ball sized hail on Katoomba in the Upper Blue Mountains.
After local calls to the Bureau of Meteorology, ten minutes later during the cColorbond racket, the BOM decided to issue a severe weather warning at 2.40pm for severe thunderstorms including large hail, heavy rain and damaging winds around Blackheath, Katoomba and Lake Burragorang, moving in a northerly direction.
It was just to legally cover itself from storm damage mitigation. Perhaps they had all been at a staff function.
The hail lasted an hour which is unusual, since it usually only lasts ten minutes in the Mountains. So the build up must have been extreme. The hailis usually only 1cm diameter. But this one dumped 3cm diameter hail stones.
Thousands of cars were damaged, no thanks to the sleeping unreliable Bureau. So can we expect insurance premiums to escalate again, especially in the unnotified and so unprepared Blue Mountains?
Katoomba Railway Station tunnel was flooded so one hopes local mural artist Vernon Treweeke used oils. Welcome to the Blue Mountains.
Katoomba’s historic railway pedestrian tunnel flooded – but the murals survived!
There were also several calls for tree damage from lightning strikes. Drains were blocked on the highway west-bound at Katoomba – must have been designed for 1 in a 3 year deluge to pocket the project profit.
Buses replaced trains between east-bound between Mount Victoria and Springwood into Wednesday evening due to flooding and landslip damaging rail infrastructure near Katoomba. Blue Mountains rail commuters were delayed returning home from Sydney by 3 hours.
NSW SES volunteers responded to 25 calls for assistance in the Katoomba area, the majority for water entering properties. SES teams and contractors were still dealing with incidents on Thursday.
Blue Mountains SES unit commander John Hughes said the main concern was for water entering Blue Mountains Hospital. “Fire and Rescue NSW were in attendance at the hospital for a fire alarm and assisted hospital staff to clear storm water within the hospital, whilst SES volunteers cleared the external drainage systems of the hospital.” he said.
Blue Mountains artist Vernon Treweeke [1939-2015] in 2001 chose Wattyl Solagard paint (top right)