Commuters may want to keep an eye on the radar this afternoon and evening, as two new waves of thunderstorms are likely to sweep over Sydney.
The city is likely to cop storms of the intensity of Tuesday afternoon’s, which generated about 9000 lightning strikes within a 40-km radius of Bankstown in a six-hour period, according to the Weatherzone Total Lightning Network.
While most of the strikes were cloud-to-cloud, many of them also reached the ground, hitting two women in separate incidents.
Wednesday’s conditions will again be favourable for thunderstorms, with high humidity and temperatures expected to reach 31 degrees in the city and 33 degrees in the west.
“This afternoon does look similar” to Tuesday’s conditions, said Brett Dutschke, a senior meteorologist with Weatherzone. “The peak time should be mid- to late-afternoon.”
The storms are likely to move through more quickly than Tuesday’s, and may be more active in the city’s west rather than across the whole Sydney Basin, he said.
However, the first bout is likely to be followed by more instability.
“Once we get to late evening, the chances of thunderstorms increase again, with more rain developing amid the storms,” Mr Dutschke said.
The thunder and rain may be heavy at times by midnight and “might wake a few people up”, he said.
Wednesday’s top may be the last time the city gets above 30 degrees this month, as more humidity and rain arrive, particularly by early to middle of next week.
“It looks like a relatively wet end to the month, not just for Sydney but for NSW as a whole,” Mr Dutschke said.
The rain will be welcomed in many regions that have been relatively dry for October and earlier.
Many parts of south-eastern Australia have been posting record heat so far this month.
Walgett, in the state’s north-west, is likely to mark its 22nd day in a row of temperatures above 30 degrees, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting at least another six.
The town’s previous longest run of such days in October was 15.
Sydney will post its fourth day in October of 30 degrees or warmer on Wednesday, if the forecast is accurate – more than double the average 1.6 such days.
Melbourne has been even more abnormal, posting its fifth day of 30-plus temperatures on Tuesday, compared with an average of fewer than one such days in October.
source:smh.com.au
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