WILD weather wreaked havoc yesterday as gale-force winds and hail struck communities across north-western New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland.
Hailstorms were short and sharp, some hit and miss, but all were frightening with wind gusts up to 110kph recorded in some areas as supercell clusters crawled across both states.
Hailstones measuring up to 10cm fell near Croppa Creek and Yetman in New South Wales, and Texas in Queensland.
Wind gusts measuring 109kph were recorded at Walgett.
Properties in all areas suffered damage, including broken windows and roof damage.
In south-east Queensland, nearly 50,000 properties were without power late Saturday and in some areas, more than 50mm of rain was measured in less than half-an-hour.
Croppa Creek Store owner, Carolyn Bellman, said rain and storms were predicted Friday, but didn’t really eventuate.
“Saturday was cloudy and high humidity, with the storms rolling in around 1.30pm,” she said.
“In typical storm conditions narrow strips were subjected to high winds, heavy rain and very large hailstones.”
Croppa Creek village was drenched with 21mm of rain in 10 minutes, with a second storm passing to the south, across Yallaroi.
Thankfully, most of the harvest through the Golden Triangle has been completed.
“The greater majority of winter crops have been harvested, however some late harvests will no doubt be frustrated with the interruption,” Carolyn said.
“The rain and storms are bitter sweet. Summer crops such as sorghum may have been hit by hail, but hopefully will bounce back.
“Any fertiliser applied to cotton and other summer plantings will be loving the drink of rain.
“Personally, we have a couple of cars damaged by hail and possibly solar panels damaged. Our son lost some windows in his house at Yallaroi and had damage to his car, also,” she said.
The all-important three-day Croppa Creek Classic Harvest: A Walk Back in Time, organised by local Lawrie Timmins, was completed just before the storms hit.
The Classic Harvest celebrated more than 100 years of automated headers in a paddock at the property, Baroma, owned by the Thompson and Siddins families.
“Timmo successfully ‘cut out’ the crop at Baroma with all the old gear,” Carolyn said.
“The last grain went into the bin slightly higher in moisture, but harvested nonetheless,” she smiled.
Images: Carolyn Bellman and Croppa Creek Classic Harvest
