Cars become trapped in heavy snow at Mount Hotham
Dozens of people have spent the night stuck in their cars in Victoria's Alpine Region as emergency services continue a rescue operation at Mount Hotham today. Meanwhile a couple had to be rescued in the Mount Kosciuszko National Park in NSW after becoming stranded in a blizzard.
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News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Virgin Australia warns of flight disruption as ‘bomb cyclone' nears NSW north coast
Flights are likely to be disrupted in the coming days as a destructive weather system rages towards the NSW north coast. Virgin Australia issued a warning on Monday evening for travellers heading to or from Sydney and Newcastle as the storm system loomed closer. 'Forecast adverse weather conditions are likely to affect our Sydney and Newcastle schedule on Tuesday,' a spokesman said. 'The safety of our guests and crew is our highest priority and we encourage those travelling tomorrow to keep an eye on the status on their flight via our website or app.' No flights have been cancelled at the time of writing, and passengers on flights that may be affected have been contacted. Jetstar is also yet to cancel any flights, but NewsWire understands the airline is closely monitoring the progress of the storm. Qantas has been contacted for comment. The powerful 'bomb cyclone' is expected to hit large parts of the NSW coastline over the next few days, with Bureau of Meteorology hazard preparedness manager Steven Bernasconi warning of flash flooding, and thunderstorms that bring heavy rain, damaging winds and even water spouts. The coastal trough is currently deepening off the North Coast and is expected to evolve into multiple low pressure systems off the coast on Monday night, with rainfall and possible thunderstorms likely along northern parts of the coast overnight. From there, the system will track slowly southward along the NSW coast on Tuesday, with the heaviest rainfall expected from the Hunter in the north to the Illawarra in the south on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Bureau of Meteorology's Daniel Hayes said a 'bomb cyclone' – or 'bombogenesis' – was a low pressure system that formed 'very quickly', causing pressure to drop significantly within a short period of time. 'As we see (the trough) continue to deepen and strengthen up, the focus for the rainfall will be on the south side of that low pressure system,' he said on Monday. 'So around more Central Coast areas through (Tuesday) and potentially further south along the coast, as the low pressure system itself shifts further south through Tuesday and into Wednesday.' Sydney could cop more than 200mm of rain in the next week, and parts of the Mid-North Coast could record up to 300mm. Rainfall is expected to ease by Thursday.
ABC News
8 hours ago
- ABC News
The weather system brewing off NSW could be the first east coast low in three years
New South Wales residents are being told to prepare for a powerful low-pressure system the Bureau of Meteorology says will "drench and batter" the east coast over the coming week. Forecasts are even flagging the potential for it to develop into an "east coast low" — one of the most dangerous weather systems the region experiences. If it does, it would be the first east coast low in three years. So what exactly are east coast lows and what makes them so dangerous? Broadly, an east coast low is an intense low-pressure system that develops on or near the east coast of Australia. But they're no ordinary storms. What sets them apart from the more typical low-pressure systems, according to Bureau of Meteorology community information officer Daniel Hayes, is their impact. "So, something bringing extreme rainfall, storm-force winds and large waves." To be able to bring this impact, the system needs to tick a few boxes. Firstly, according to Mr Hayes, it must be strong. "An east coast low is first and foremost an intense low-pressure system that forms quite quickly. So it has to get to be a strong low-pressure system, such that it can have a large impact," he said. Secondly, it must be near the coast. "To have an impact it has to be within a couple of hundred kilometres of the coast. If it's too far out, it doesn't matter how strong it is, it won't have nearly as much impact." And thirdly, it needs to hang around for an extended period of time — generally "at least 12 hours", according to Mr Hayes. This means its effects can last much longer — producing long periods of heavy rainfall and flooding, damaging winds and very large swell. With the exception of rare southern-tracking tropical cyclones, east coast lows are the most significant weather systems to impact south-east Queensland and eastern parts of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Though they are different from tropical cyclones, which are born in warm tropical waters, they can produce winds up to category two cyclone level. "They can be very similar [in their impacts], because largely they have the same mechanisms for causing an impact: heavy rainfall, strong winds, and they can develop large and powerful surf," he said. A look at past events reveals east coast lows have been behind some of Australia's worst natural disasters, including the deadly 1998 Sydney to Hobart race in which six sailors died. Latest forecasts show the low-pressure system developing off the New South Wales coast has the potential to form into an east coast low, with the impacts lasting several days. However, Mr Hayes said it may not reach to east coast low status due to its impact potentially being softened by another low-pressure system nearby. "It's complicated by the fact that we do have another low-pressure system developing off the coast as well, and the two are going to interact somewhat," he said. "They may end up cancelling each other out to some extent and reducing the overall impact." The interaction between the two low-pressure systems is known as "dumbbelling", with the systems rotating around each other. Regardless of whether it does get named a true east coast low, Mr Hayes said severe weather was still likely with the potential for damaging winds, heavy rainfall and flooding and powerful waves. "We are expecting to see significant impacts out of this. Mr Hayes said rain and showers, with the potential for thunderstorms, were forecast to develop around the northern New South Wales coast from Monday afternoon. But he said the main impacts would begin on Tuesday, as the system deepened and pushed further south toward Sydney and Wollongong. A severe weather warning has been issued for areas stretching from Lismore to just south of Woolongong, with damaging winds averaging 60 to 70 kilometres per hour, with peak gusts up to 100kph from Tuesday. These winds are expected to linger throughout Wednesday, potentially even lasting into Thursday. Mr Hayes said significant rainfall was also forecast for some parts of the coast, particularly on the southern side of the system around Illawarra, the NSW south coast and southern parts of Sydney. "The rainfall is likely to be somewhat concentrated on the southern side," he said "So while we might very well see 50 to 150 millimetres of rain in the 48 hours from Tuesday into Wednesday, we could see some areas that do go higher than that and push up to the 200 millimetre range," he said. "On the northern side, we are likely to be seeing that rain starting to taper off after today." East coast lows are most common during late autumn into winter. Their frequency depends on the definition used, but on average, there are around two severe events per year, which generate daily rain totals in excess of 100mm. However, it has been three years since Australia has seen one reach the threshold. Research indicates that east coast lows are projected to become less frequent with climate change, particularly during the cooler months of the year. However, those that do occur are likely to be more intense and potentially more hazardous, with rising sea levels exacerbating coastal impacts.
News.com.au
13 hours ago
- News.com.au
Fires break out as southern Europe heatwave intensifies
Firefighters mobilised in several countries to tackle blazes as southern Europeans sought shelter from punishing temperatures of a heatwave that is set to intensify in the coming days. Fires broke out in France and Turkey Sunday, with other countries already on alert. Authorities from Spain to Portugal, Italy and France urged people to seek shelter and protect the most vulnerable from the summer's first major heatwave. Ambulances stood on standby near tourist hotspots as experts warned that such heatwaves, intensified by climate change, would become more frequent. In Turkey, forest fires broke out Sunday afternoon in the western Izmir province, fed by strong winds, local media reported. Firefighters backed by specially adapted planes were battling the blaze, but five neighbourhoods in the Seferihisar district had to be evacuated, said the local governor. In France, wildfires broke out in the Corbieres area of Aude in the southwest, where temperatures topped 40 degrees (104F), forcing the evacuation of a campsite and abbey as a precaution. Already last week, Greek firefighters had to battle a forest blaze on the coast south of Athens that forced some evacuations. - 'Not normal' - French weather service Meteo France put a record 84 out of the country's 101 regional departments on an orange heatwave alert -- the second-highest -- for Monday. Spain's weather service AEMET said temperatures in Extremadura and Andalusia, in the south and southwest, had reached up to 44C Sunday. In Madrid, where temperatures approached 40C, 32-year-old photographer Diego Radames told AFPTV: "I feel that the heat we're experiencing is not normal for this time of year. "As the years go by, I have the feeling that Madrid is getting hotter and hotter, especially in the city centre," he added. In Italy, 21 cities across the length of the country were on high alert for extreme heat, including Milan, Naples, Venice, Florence, Rome and Catania. "We were supposed to be visiting the Colosseum, but my mum nearly fainted," said British tourist Anna Becker, who had travelled to Rome from a "muggy, miserable" Verona. Hospital emergency departments across Italy have reported a 10-percent increase in heatstroke cases, according to Mario Guarino, vice president of the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine. "It is mainly elderly people, cancer patients or homeless people, presenting with dehydration, heat stroke, fatigue," he told AFP. - 'More frequent, more intense' - Several areas in the southern half of Portugal, including Lisbon, are under a red warning until Monday night, said the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA). Two-thirds of Portugal was also on high alert Sunday for extreme heat and forest fires -- as was the Italian island of Sicily, where firefighters tackled 15 blazes Saturday. Scientists say climate change is stoking hotter and more intense heatwaves, particularly in cities where the so-called "urban heat island" effect amplifies temperatures among tightly packed buildings. "The heat waves in the Mediterranean region have become more frequent and more intense in recent years," said Emanuela Piervitali, a researcher at the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA). "A further increase in temperature and heat extremes is expected in the future, so we will have to get used to temperatures with peaks even higher than those we are experiencing now," she told AFP. - Invasive species - The heat is also attracting invasive species, which are thriving in the more tropical climes. ISPRA launched a campaign this week urging fishermen and tourists alike to report sightings of four "potentially dangerous" venomous species. The lionfish, silver-cheeked toadfish, dusky spinefoot and marbled spinefoot are beginning to appear in waters off southern Italy as the Mediterranean warms, it said. In France, experts warned that the heat was also severely hitting biodiversity. "We are taking in birds in difficulty everywhere; our seven care centres are saturated," said Allain Bougrain-Dubourg, president of the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO). burs-ide/jj/gv
