Weather News

TAS braces for a wild week of weather

Kim Westcott, Tuesday May 5, 2015 - 15:11 AEST

Wind, rain, snow and abnormally high tides are all on the cards for Tasmania.

Some places have seen incredible wind gusts this morning. Cape Grim saw a 133km/h gust, Mount Read clocked 111km/h this morning which was the strongest gust this year. Mount Wellington gusted to 104km/h while Hobart saw an 82km/h gust this morning.

Alongside the wind, also came the rain. Fisher River recorded 73mm to 9am Tuesday and nearby Lake Mackenzie saw 62mm. Widespread falls of 25-50mm were produced this morning, predominately through inland and northern areas. There is currently a flood watch for all northern, western and southern river basins.

Due to the high wind action, this in turn will see a building in the seas and tides. Abnormally high tides are a risk during Tuesday evening, leading to a risk of flooding of low lying areas of the South East and Western districts. Around the South East Cape, waves are forecast to be as high as 25 feet on Thursday.

This round of wild weather is due to a gusty cold front, with the associated deep low pressure system trailing close behind. The front has brought the initial burst of wind and rain this morning. The low will pass to the south of the state and will produce ferocious westerly winds from this afternoon. By Wednesday, there will be some easing in the winds, but the increased likelihood of snow to low levels for Western and Central Plateau districts as the pool of cold air catches up.

Further cold fronts are lined up to impact our southern-most state throughout this week and potentially into next week. Rising rivers and streams will lead to localised flooding as the sodden ground struggles to absorb each successive round of rain. The western half of the island will be heavily impacted, with weekly total in the region of 200-300mm possible. In the east, falls will be mostly less than 50mm during the same period. A high should slip over the isle later next week for a few days, allowing the wild weather to ease.

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2015

Enter a postcode or town name for local weather, or text to search the site. » advanced search

Weather News

» all stories

Satellites capture huge dust storm crossing Mediterranean Sea

14:32 AEST Images captured from satellites have revealed the colossal scale of a dust storm that turned the sky orange in parts of Greece earlier this week.