Elsie Adamo
MOUNT Gambier and surrounds were hit by summer hail last week, and the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said there could be more on the way this season.
Last Thursday a thunderstorm with large hailstones made its way through the region, with 1.4mm of rain recorded.
Senior meteorologist at BOM South Australia Simon Timcke said that type of storm certainty does not occur everyday in the South East.
“That particular day we had a low-pressure system moving across and it was pretty warm,” Mr Timcke said.
“It was dragging some very warm air down from the north-east which was left over from tropical ex-cyclone Seth.
“That part of the country ended up with a pretty tropical airmass, warm, moist and quite unstable.
“I was not surprised to see that there was a bit of hail around, they [clouds] were very tall and had a lot of vertical development to them.”
Mr Timcke said the worst of it appeared to hit on the Victorian side of the border.
Further storms could be expected this week, but likely to be calm again going into the weekend, but to keep a lookout at the sky.
“At the very least you will see some pretty spectacular clouds around the place,” Mr Timcke said.
BOM predicts that the La Niña climate driver, which is currently being observed, will likely remain until early autumn.
La Niña is associated with increased rainfall, cooler temperatures and a higher rate of tropical cyclones.
