Dropepd wife off in the Parliamentary Zone - from the bridge onward there were cars parked on the median strips etc with shattered rear and front windows, smashed off mirrors, the traffic light glare shields were all broken off, the trees were stripped of foliage (the road was greener than black!), and there was areas of flooding. The hail was piled up in snow-drift style around buildings, easily a foot thick at DFAT and my wife's work.
Parts of Melbourne went through something similar yesterday and it looks like it to some lesser extent today as well.
We copped a barrage of hailstones the size of golfballs and larger, luckily after being caught out 10 years ago we quickly covered one of our cars with an old carpet and the other was quickly driven to next door's carport as they have room for up to 3 cars. The house survived without any damage this time.
This was our front yard during the deluge
We copped a barrage of hailstones the size of golfballs and larger, luckily after being caught out 10 years ago we quickly covered one of our cars with an old carpet and the other was quickly driven to next door's carport as they have room for up to 3 cars. The house survived without any damage this time.
This was our front yard during the deluge
Where I was on Sunday (Wollert) didn't get a drop of rain while the storm cells were going through Melbourne. I was in the 2011 storms, I was parked underneath a tree and every panel was hail damaged but luckily didn't lose any windows on my then 6 month old car.
Picked wife up from work 20 min ago. Still piles of hail in corners of buildings, under bushes etc. Hundreds of cars parked at various department car parks still - or being towed - all riddled with major dents, all smashed or holed glass. In the end, there will be thousands of insurance claims - my insurer already reached out to me and we weren’t affected at all.
Picked wife up from work 20 min ago. Still piles of hail in corners of buildings, under bushes etc. Hundreds of cars parked at various department car parks still - or being towed - all riddled with major dents, all smashed or holed glass. In the end, there will be thousands of insurance claims - my insurer already reached out to me and we weren’t affected at all.
The insurer will be likely be reaching into your pocket too, next time you renew. Someone has to pay for all of that damage and Canberra's risk category has changed for sure. It will take a long time to repair all those cars, as there are only so many repairers in Canberra. Vehicles will have to be send to Victoria and NSW to be repaired and owners will wait. Some of the ones I saw on TV looked like write-offs.
Went out to lake george last night and it was briiiiiiillliant. Except I had spats of equipment failure until I gave up and dodged the roos, wombats and foxes to get home without any useful images at 1am... Was good to be out tho.
After incredible efforts over recent weeks, by all available resources, RSF, ADF etc, to stop it happening, finally the big mountain fires have made it into the ACT Namadgi National Park ...here we go....I have a bad feeling Canberra looks and smells like a camp fire, windows and doors shut tight yet again...
This is what south-western Canberra suburbs are facing....2003, when we lost Mt Stromlo Observatory, 500 odd homes and four people, is looking very repeatable
Those water bomber guys are doing an outstanding job. Like one Tharwa resident said today "It looks worse than it is". I hope she's right. It seems to have spread to the pine foreestry now, which accounts for the change in smoke colour.
On an aviation note, it's a joy to watch those DC-10's - the actual smell of burning avtur (delicious), the hum of 3x CF-6 engines at firewall (compared to the drone of CFM-56's we hear all day otherwise), and the split-arse right turn at 500ft.
This is what south-western Canberra suburbs are facing....2003, when we lost Mt Stromlo Observatory, 500 odd homes and four people, is looking very repeatable
Mike
Indeed.
We faced it last week - Pialligo and Redwood Forest fires - all 2km away from us. With the Womboin pine forest behind us, it is a bit of a concern fire ember wise IF fire gets into there. Thankfully, Canberra Airport Authority and the Army got into the grasslands all around and it's all stubble - won't burn much between us and the forest.
I'm sure you have, but I'd be bringing the astro-gear home to Braddon Mike. Wallaroo would go up like sawdust.
I'm sure you have, but I'd be bringing the astro-gear home to Braddon Mike. Wallaroo would go up like sawdust.
Yeah thought about it but I have no significant trees around the observatory and for many hectares all around it is sparsely scattered gums and grass land which is currently very short. I have faith in the local RFS to protect property reasonably well but if not, well, NRMA has been engaged most healthily
Funny thing was I sent a parcel to a guy in QLD. He sent me an SMS saying it actually reeked of smoke. I replied "No kidding after sitting in smoke for 3 months". I don't think some understand how much smoke the ACT has endured and continues to - the Parliamentary Vortex sucks it in from NSW, Vic, SA and WA, and pushes all the water up to QLD. Not sure I am kidding any more .
They say passive smoking is bad for your health...I am sure
They're forecasting good rains for eastern NSW across the weekend and monsoonal downpours for the northern coastal areas - hopefully dampen down the fires significantly.
That's terrible. Saw that in the news this morning. We got some here too but nothing that big. 
please, LOTS of it.
.
