Given that this latest storm to travel through Queensland on the weekend and all the talk of tornadoes etc. I thought it might be worth trawling back through memory lane to past historical weather events such as the Brisbane Tornado of 4 November 1973.

So if you were old enough then where were you on that date and what did you see and remember? Have you any photos of the event?

I was on the Bruce Highway travelling down from Maroochydore. I distinctly remember towering great cumulo nimbus clouds. We could see one huge tower in front of us that had a tunnel punched clean through it and through that hole flashed a constant strobe of lightning. It was horrifying and brought up visions of what hell would look like from afar. Truly the wrath of God was being wrought was the thought that came to mind.

It wasn't long that we came to realise from the news reports that something very dramatic had happened. The next day saw many sad news reports of destruction. Getting around I saw a brick house that had been completely lifted off it's foundation and turned 90 degrees and laying down hill. Going through Toohey's forest one could see very large gum trees with their tops screwed off. The scars in that trail of destruction were there for all to see for years.

The memories are quite vivid and must have been imprinted via their shocking detail.

Feel free to add your own reminiscences from past weather events that may have never been recorded. We see nowadays that everyone has access to put down their thoughts on current events but we should perhaps give space to go back and fill in some of the anecdotal evidence of past events. Scanned slides and photos would also be excellent to add to the body of past evidence.

I remember driving with my dad along the Bruce Highway around Maryborough/Gympie somewhere as a kid and seeing a swathe cut through the trees, directly perpendicular to the highway, and right alongside a shed which had been untouched. Turns out the Bucca tornado day also spawned a smaller one in that area - I came through a few months (I think?) after the event and there was regrowth, but the scars were still clear for all to see. Memory is a bit foggy - 1994 I was 11 or so - but seeing that narrow, clear path cut through the trees has stuck with me for life!! I am amazed that people still don't believe that we get tornadoes in Australia...

Also saw the aftermath of "something" a few years ago out at Rathdowney, the day after the storms this time though - again, it appeared to be a swathe cut through the trees, quite a narrow damage path with debris in all directions. One house had lost its roof and I believe was damaged so badly it was condemned. Interesting!

ALSO back home in Bundy, on a totally clear, still day - again driving around town with my dad saw a horizontal 'tube' of cloud rolling across the sky. Not related to any weather, not with any surface wind - just a tube rolling across the sky!! I've never seen anything like it before or since, obviously some sort of atmospheric wave-type of disturbance, but it was quite incredible!

In 1973 we lived at Rainworth which is in the western suburbs of Brisbane and not far from were the tornado hit. The trees along the track path looked like they had been mowed with an extra large tractor having all their tops cleanly snapped off. We ere not able to gain access to the main area of destruction.

My father was working within the vicinity building a house when the tornadoes struck. That was when I 1st realised that Australia does get tornadoes.

Old footage of the storm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HURlLa1CFWo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HURlLa1CFWo&feature=player_detailpage

Amazingly in 1985 I was in the same area and got smashed with the famous Brisbane hail storm. By far the most horrendous storm I had been in. I lived at Bridgeman Downs,on the northside of Brisbane at the time, and it took me over 4 hours to get home. I had to weave my way through all the destruction, especially around Albion and surrounding areas. I had never seen hail that large before, wind that savage peaking at 184km/h at the Brisbane airport, a sky that colour or so frightening and everything else that the storm threw at us.

Extract from the Australia Government EMA data base

A major hailstorm struck mainly north-eastern and south-western Brisbane suburbs with cricket ball sized hail and wind gusts to 101 knots at Brisbane Airport. Damage figures included 2,000 houses unroofed (12 structurally unsafe) and a total of 20,000 buildings (incl houses) damaged. Also, 6,000 cars were badly damaged.

Main damage extended up to 12km with worst affected suburbs including Jamboree Heights, Coinda, Sherwood, Graceville, Windsor, Chermside, Banyo, Eagle Farm and Hamilton.

At Pumicestone Passage (Bribie Is), a tornado overturned a 26 foot cruiser and a woman drowned. The tornado also affected Redcliffe. Torrents of water poured through Brisbane city department stores as streets flooded to waist level and higher.

Sometimes when I hear people say that they hope for a massive storm, I cringe, I wonder if they really know what they are wishing for.

Cheers

Colin

Can you imagine what the soundings or radar would have looked like for the 1985 hailstorm. Wow...

Sounds incredible, here is the morning sounding-
http://soundings.bsch.com.au/skew-t.html...ndow=on&hodo=on

The 1973 tornado is still the most damaging tornado to affect an Australian capital city. A long track too... 51km and rated F3 (EF3). Several buildings were destroyed or required demolition afterwards.

Here's some video snaps Ben Quinn (Thanks to BSCH) created a few years back... click on the image for a full set of images:



And below there is a surface map:


On my Brisbane Storms site I used to have full reports on both of these incredible events, but I've been a bit lazy and haven't re-uploaded them. I will... sometime lol

I think Coltan and I grew up in the same area. I also lived at Rainworth in 1973. I can't remember the actual storm that spawned the tornado but can remember driving with Dad along Taringa Parade Taringa not long after the storm. From memory the tornado emerged from the bush beneath Mt Cootha near the intersection of Taringa Parade and Crag Road. I can remember seeing the extensive tree damage (trees snapped off 2-3 meters off the ground and some houses with roof damage.

In 1985 when the big hail storm came through I was on my honeymoon down the Gold Coast. From memory didn't get a storm there that day but finished up cleaning my new sister in laws yard up at Aspley the following week.

And I will start to show my age by saying one of the earliest memories is staying with my grandparents at Bardon one night when TC Dinah was very close to Fraser Island. They lived on an exposed ridge at Bardon and I can still remember the rain and wind belting onto their tin roof all night long.

If anyone has the opportunity to go to the John Oxley library in Brisbane you can read over any newspaper reports and photos from these events. Makes for an interesting day out.

I wasn't around for this on but apparently a tornado caused extensive damage in Yandina on the sunshine coast. The storm that produced the tornado was associated the nearby passing of a cyclone on Sunday the 27th of March 1955.
The article in the local newspaper at the time The Nambour Chronical is avalible online :- http://www.nambour-chronicle.com/
Article published on Fri the 1st of April 1955.
just need to register (for free) to view
goes into reasonable detail about which properties and where, were damaged.

I was only 9 in 1973 and lived here at Kalbar, but my Mum's sister and her family lived at Holland Park and I can vividly remember the first time we went to visit them after the tornado, driving from Salisbury up through Toohey forest and my Dad slowing down and pointing out to us the swathe of trees that had been demolished. It took many years for the evidence to disappear. By the time of the January 1985 storm I was working at the Mater hospital and working a late shift that day.

My abiding recollections of that storm were just how dark it got and the news that night showing the number of smashed factory windows on the northside. If memory serves me correctly it hit at about 4.30pm but it was like night outside. I can remember all the staff standing outside the casualty entrances and staring into the sky like a mob of frightened sheep.It was sooooooo black. When I next headed back home to Kalbar I dropped into Harrisville and saw the remains of one of the old town churches completely flattened by the storm. It was just a pile of timber!!!

I know I shouldn't wish for things like this to happen, but as a 20 year old, it's hard to imagine things like this have happened. Hailstorms of that magnitude, tornadoes across Brisbane, cyclones hitting south-east Queensland, fairly frequent river floods... If it weren't for the floods earlier this year, it would be almost incomprehensible.

These may be of interest to those who don't know much about the 1985 storm

http://www.northgateward.org/home_Page520.html

This is a more general discussion of severe Thunderstorm risks and rates in SEQ. Makes for interesting reading, especially the bit about the relationship with soi. There's a bit about the 1973 and 1985 storms. Interestingly, the pics of the giant hail in this report are from the Nov 1995 Bellbowrie storm. Ones just like those totalled my friends roof in that storm. He had some hail punch through tiles, through Gyprock ceiling and then smash stuff on his living room cabinet.

http://www.agso.gov.au/pdf/GA1489.pdf

What a fantastic and relevant reading. Do you have more like that?

Also some of the hail sizes here are just gob-smacking:

http://www.bsch.au.com/severewx/index.shtml

Mr Kim Flesser fleeced that straight off my website several years ago. I did try contacting him (for at least a link) back then... maybe I need to try that again.

Regarding the Bellbowrie storm... it was on the end of a week long sequence of daily severe thunderstorms in SEQ. Softballs fell at Bellbowrie... you're very correct Neil about the hail going through the tiles/gyprock etc. Even cars in tiled garages were damaged. I remember seeing the radar (on Ray Wilkie's weather) and it showed several (6-8 maybe) severe thunderstorms tracking W-E across SEQ. Most had golfball hail, but the Bellbowrie storm was the beast.

I can remember reading the official BOM report on the 1974 Brisbane flood but I wonder if they wrote official reports on events like the 1973 tornado or the 1985 hail storm, and would they be available anywhere still.

Interesting topic btw Phil thanks for starting it.

I wondered why it sounded like someone knowledgeable in severe weather had written it, rather than a councillor in local government who is unlikely a hardcore severe weather nut like some of us on here!

For me was the 2003 Currumbin hail storm. Ill never forget seeing holes bigger than my fist going through the roofs, gyprock and into people homes. It was so strange as I lived 600 meters away from an effected part (I just looked it up on google maps) and we had nothing but rain. Ill never forget the next day the scene of smashed cars everywhere, trees, houses and people in total shock.


Is the 1985 one that hit the live cricket on TV ? If so I only vaguely remember it on telly.


Loving this thread I must say good on you Phil for starting it

The one during the Gabba test was on the morning of the same day that the Bucca F4 tornado occured (Nov 29, 1992)...just adds to the aura of an already incredible day, doesn't it! Along with the F3 that went through the western suburbs of Maryborough too (a lot of people forget that part too)

This is a short youtube of the event, I know there are longer ones floating around somewhere.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkxHaPguq9Q

There's some discussion and weather data for the 29 Nov 1992 storms here

off topic I know- but is SEQ the most PRONE AREA in Australia for tornados? has any tornado been recorded in Sydney, Melbourne or other states?
Amazing how alot of people dont realise that we DO get them here in Australia- just not as common as in the US