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Spectacular Night Shelf Cloud at Ballina: Tuesday 15th November 2005
Report compiled by Michael Bath

If you have any photos or video of this event, please email.

This was a very frustrating day in the Northern Rivers. Loads of potential with great wind shear, good temperature profile but humidity was just too low south of the border to allow anything to develop. The 3pm dew point at Dorrigo of just 8 reflected the situation.

Storms developed on the northern parts of the Northern Tablelands and moved into SE Queensland and Brisbane during the afternoon.

However all was not lost as conditions were more favourable for the evening. A surface trough and cold front was moving quickly up the NSW coast and storms were active along it.

At 8pm it all looked too distant and I thought it may pass too far off the coast. A little later, radar showed new cells forming close to the coast so it was time to head off. Rodney Wallbridge arrived at my place and we headed to North Wall at Ballina.

Lightning was continuous but almost all of it was in-cloud. The scene at the mouth of the Richmond River was great after a non-event chase day. The full moon illuminated the fast moving clouds nicely. Dave Ellem met up with us soon after we arrived.

Some quite dramatic and unusual cloud structures were captured as the line of activity approached. Although precipitation from the storms was well out to sea, the shelf and roll cloud structures extended back over the land south of Ballina.

By 10.30pm the storm and cloud structures were quite amazing ! With the lightning and full moon light, it made for some spectacular photos.

The shelf cloud passed right overhead at 10.45pm when we were blasted by gale force southerlies from the change.


Radar

From Bureau of Meteorology

  • Grafton local scale loop 0800z to 1300z 15/11/2005 (7pm to midnight local time)
  • Grafton medium scale loop 0700z to 1400z 15/11/2005 (6pm to 1am local time)


    Satellite Images

    From Bureau of Meteorology

    08z 09z 10z 11z 12z 13z 14z 7pm to 1am local


    Analysis Charts

    From Bureau of Meteorology

    15/11/2005 06z


    GFS Model Analysis

    From NOAA 15/11/2005 06z analysis

  • Liftex Index
  • CAPE
  • Relative Humidity surface
  • Relative Humidity 850 hPa
  • Relative Humidity 700 hPa
  • Relative Humidity 600 hPa
  • Relative Humidity 500 hPa
  • Relative Humidity 300 hPa
  • Temperature (C) surface
  • Temperature (C) 850 hPa
  • Temperature (C) 700 hPa
  • Temperature (C) 500 hPa
  • Temperature (C) 300 hPa
  • Winds (knots) surface
  • Winds (knots) 925 hPa
  • Winds (knots) 850 hPa
  • Winds (knots) 700 hPa
  • Winds (knots) 500 hPa
  • Winds (knots) 300 hPa
  • Winds (knots) 200 hPa

    From NOAA 15/11/2005 12z analysis

  • Liftex Index
  • CAPE
  • Relative Humidity surface
  • Relative Humidity 850 hPa
  • Relative Humidity 700 hPa
  • Relative Humidity 600 hPa
  • Relative Humidity 500 hPa
  • Relative Humidity 300 hPa
  • Temperature (C) surface
  • Temperature (C) 850 hPa
  • Temperature (C) 700 hPa
  • Temperature (C) 500 hPa
  • Temperature (C) 300 hPa
  • Winds (knots) surface
  • Winds (knots) 925 hPa
  • Winds (knots) 850 hPa
  • Winds (knots) 700 hPa
  • Winds (knots) 500 hPa
  • Winds (knots) 300 hPa
  • Winds (knots) 200 hPa


    Document: 200511-04.htm
    Updated: 13th January 2006
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