A series of destructive severe

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...

s struck southeastern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia, on 29 November 1992. The storms produced strong

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ho ...

s, flash flooding and large hailstones in the region, including the capital city of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. The storms also spawned two of the most powerful

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

es recorded in Australia, including the only Australian tornado to be given an official 'F4' classification on the

Fujita scale The Fujita scale (F-Scale; ), or Fujita–Pearson scale (FPP scale), is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation. The official Fujita scale category is deter ...

and the last violent tornado in Australia until 21 March 2013. The meteorological instability in the region resulted in the formation of at least five

supercell A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms ( ...

thunderstorms in the space of around three hours. The storms, which spawned progressively further up the coast from

to Gladstone as the afternoon progressed, left a trail of damage resulting from hail, rain and wind. The event has been described as ''"one of the most widespread outbreaks of severe thunderstorms recorded"'' by veteran meteorologist

Richard Whitaker Richard Northcroft "Dick" Whitaker (born 15 July 1947) is an Australian meteorologist and author. Whitaker is the chief meteorologist on The Weather Channel, following his thirty-year career as a meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology. Bu ...

Climatology and conditions

November is traditionally the start of the thunderstorm season along the eastern seaboard of Australia, with a rise in average

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...

and warmer ground

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various Conversion of units of temperature, temp ...

s combining with more frequent occurrences of cool air in the

upper atmosphere Upper atmosphere is a collective term that refers to various layers of the atmosphere of the Earth above the troposphere and corresponding regions of the atmospheres of other planets, and includes: * The mesosphere, which on Earth lies between th ...

. These conditions are conducive for producing severe thunderstorms, particularly those which feature hail. The conditions on Sunday, 29 November were extremely unsettled. There were a series of

cells that formed early in the morning – despite it being more common for thunderstorms to form in the late afternoon in the south-east Queensland region. These storms, which had periodic bursts of severe

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an avera ...

, cleared quickly. Thunderstorms began to form again just before midday, as the hot and humid conditions became more acute in the middle part of the day. The

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together ...

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

picked up a series of cells to the north-west of

, the capital of Queensland, and the data suggested that there was a possibility of large hail. The Bureau immediately issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for the coastal region between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, 100 km to the north. The main cell in the thunderstorm system appeared from

analysis to split into two separate and distinct cells. This development resulted in one part of the major storm to head north, to

Maroochydore Maroochydore ( ) is a coastal town in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was subdivided from the Cotton Tree reserve by Surveyor Thomas O'Connor in 1903. The land was acquired from William Pettigrew who had a timber de ...

, while the other part headed south towards

. The southern cell struck Brisbane just after 1:00pm, with intense

activity and hailstones the size of

marbles A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. They vary in size, and most commonly are about in diameter. These toys can be used for a variety of games called ''marbles'', as well being placed in mar ...

falling. The storm caused a lengthy delay during the First

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

of the series between Australia and the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

, when hail forced play to be stopped at the

Brisbane Cricket Ground The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Ga ...

around 1:15pm. The northern cell continued to intensify throughout the afternoon. The Bureau of Meteorology then recognised it as a

, which often bring erratic developments and often last for long periods of time. The storm dropped hailstones which were between eight and ten centimeters around

, on the Sunshine Coast, damaging the roofs of around 80 houses in the area. The hail also damaged aircraft at a local airport and dented cars, as well as inflicting injuries to a handful of

swimmers Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

at beaches near Maroochydore.

Tornadoes

The extreme instability in this area caused at least three more severe

s in the region. Two separate cells both produced a tornado that were recorded as two of the most powerful in Australian history. The third supercell, which formed just after 3:00pm (immediately after the two tornadoes) near Gladstone, produced

golf ball A golf ball is a special ball designed to be used in the game of golf. Under the rules of golf, a golf ball has a mass no more than , has a diameter not less than , and performs within specified velocity, distance, and symmetry limits. Like g ...

-sized hail that caused

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydropon ...

damage around Gladstone. The total damage to crops from the event was placed in the millions ( A$).

Oakhurst tornado

Early in the afternoon, another

developed around the town of Maryborough, around 300 km north of

. It developed rapidly also, and at 2:30pm a number of reports sent to the

reported a

had touched down in Oakhurst, a

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

area 10 km west of Maryborough. However, due to the low population density in the area the reported damage was sparse, with one house destroyed, several others unroofed and hundreds of trees were snapped. Upon investigation and analysis of measurements and the damage caused by the tornado, it was given a rating of 'F3' on the

. This was one of the most powerful tornadoes ever recorded in Australia, and the scale indicated the tornado may have produced winds of between 252 and 300 kilometres per hour.

Bucca tornado

Only minutes after the Oakhurst tornado, another supercell developed to the south-west of Bundaberg, around 400 km north of Brisbane and 150 km north of the Oakhurst tornado. It strengthened and moved in a north-east direction, causing severe damage to

Bullyard Bullyard is a small rural town and locality in Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. In , Bullyard had a population of 189 people. Geography Bullyard is located off the Bruce Highway in Central Queensland, approximately west of Bundaberg ...

and Bucca areas with giant hailstones, described as the size of a "cricket ball". The supercell then spawned a tornado in the Bucca and Kolan area. According to reports by meteorologists, the tornado was so strong and the effects caused on the area it hit were so extreme that household appliances were displaced, small objects were embedded in trees and house walls, and "a 3-

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

truck body was carried 300 metres across the ground". However, as with Oakhurst, the rural nature of the area affected limited the damage caused by the tornado. Examination by a severe weather team from the

examined the damage in the Bucca and Kolan region and recorded it as an 'F4' on the

. This corresponds to the tornado being able to produce winds between 331 and 417 kilometres per hour and of 'devastating' intensity. This is the first tornado ever to be recorded as an F4 in Australian history.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * {{1992 tornado outbreaks Disasters in Queensland Natural disasters in Australia Tornadoes in Australia Queensland storms Queensland storms Queensland storms Queensland storms 1990s in Queensland November 1992 events in Australia