wa weather – Michmutters
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Australia

Perth weather: South-west corner of WA could be in for its coldest day this year

A wintry mix of hail, blustery thunderstorms and even snow flurries is on the cards for Western Australia, as the south-west corner of the state, including Perth, braces for what could be its coldest day of the year so far.

A gusty cold front reached Perth just before midday on Monday, and is set to sweep over the remainder of the South West Land Division, reaching Geraldton to Hopetoun this evening.

While this event is not likely to be as strong or prolonged as the system that hit WA last week, causing record wind gusts in some places, it is still expected to pack a punch.

Cape Leeuwin and Ocean Reef have already recorded wind gusts nearing 90 kilometers per hour.

A large tree lies across the ground in a yard near a home.
Trees and power lines were brought down by a storm that hit Perth last week.(Supplied: Rowan Newton)

Hail could impact large swathe of state

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Caroline Crow said the initial cold front would be followed by a pool of cold air on Tuesday, which would send maximum temperatures plummeting and bring hail to a large area of ​​the state.

A hand holds a giant ball of hail
David Zander from Parmelia said it hailed at their house last Tuesday morning.(Supplied)

“Coming into tomorrow there will be potential hail though the South West Land Division from about Jurien Bay to Lake Grace to Esperance,” she said.

“Broadly speaking, it’s the coldest outbreak for the south-west of the state that we’re looking at for this season so far, given the region of hail potential which is quite far inland.”

SES fixing Mt Helena house roof
SES officers were kept busy with calls for help from residents across Perth last Tuesday and Wednesday.(ABC News: Nic Perpitch)

She said maximum temperatures would generally be between two and six degrees Celsius lower than average on Tuesday, with temperatures in the Great Southern region struggling to reach the low teens.

“The Great Southern and south coastal district is looking at temperatures around 10C to 12C,” she said.

“And from Bunbury into inland parts of the South West Land Division, all the way to the south-east coastal district around that 12C mark.”

Perth is also forecast for cooler-than-normal weather, with a maximum of 15C expected in the city and 14C in Mandurah.

The coldest day of the year so far in Perth was on July 17, when the temperature peaked at 14.2C.

In Katanning, the coldest day was on July 30 when the mercury reached just 11.1C, Mount Barker’s chilliest day was on August 3 (11C) and Bunbury’s coldest day was on July 30 (13.9C).

A branch breaking through the roof to Mt Helena home.
The weather is not expected to get as wild as it did last week, when a tree branch pierced the roof of this Mt Helena home.(ABC News: Nic Perpitch)

Bluff Knoll could get more snow

Ms Crow said the cold blast could mean snow on Bluff Knoll, in the Stirling Ranges, for the second time in a fortnight.

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“It might get cold enough tomorrow to see a little bit of snow up Bluff Knoll, early in the morning around 4am to 5am through until midday,” she said.

“It’s more likely to be flurries rather than really settling on Bluff Knoll.”

One weather app, Windy, has even forecast the chance of light snow on the Perth Hills early on Tuesday. However Ms Crow said that was unlikely.

“The darling scarp doesn’t have a freezing level low enough or cold enough to get a dusting of snow like Bluff Knoll,” she said.

‘Unseasonal’ rain for northern parts of WA

It’s not just the south of the state expecting a wintry blast.

Ms Crow said a band of cloud was starting to thicken up over western Pilbara and central WA, which would likely bring showers by mid-week.

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Categories
Business

Perth weather disruption continues as storm fronts lash WA, but power restored to airport

Power has been restored to Perth Airport after a major outage sparked by severe weather caused widespread flight cancellations and overnight delays.

The severe weather, brought about by an once-in-a-year triple storm front hitting Western Australia, saw all outbound services scheduled to depart before 8:30pm on Tuesday grounded.

Check-ins, security screening and car park access were also affected.

Passengers were reportedly told to go home for the night and to contact their travel agents.

“Perth Airport is working to activate all systems across its terminals in order to become fully operational,” Perth Airport said in a statement.

A wide shot of passengers sitting inside a terminal at Perth Airport.
The power outage at the airport left passengers delayed and in many cases sent home.(Supplied: Night News)

“We ask passengers for their continued patience as our team and our airline partners work to get flights underway.”

The airport has apologized for the inconvenience, saying the safety of everyone who worked in or was traveling through Perth Airport remained its highest priority.

Thousands still without power

The airport was one of thousands of properties left without power across Perth as the first of three powerful cold fronts battered the state.

Debris from a collapsed ceiling lies across a living room.
The ceiling of a Joondalup home in Perth’s north collapsed overnight as the wild weather continued.(Supplied: Night News)

At the peak of the storm yesterday morning, Western Power said 35,000 customers were without electricity, but it has since been restored to more than 25,000 properties.

The wild weather is set to continue, with damaging winds averaging 65 kilometers per hour and peak gusts in excess of 100 kph likely along the west coast and Perth this morning, before conditions ease during the late afternoon.

Heavy showers and thunderstorms are also expected to persist throughout the day.

A wide shot of an emergency services vehicle outside a home damaged by bad weather at night.
Emergency services were called to a Port Kennedy home after it suffered damage to its roof and fence.(Supplied: Night News)

A severe weather warning for damaging surf is also in place, with significant wave heights exceeding 7 meters already occurring in exposed locations.

Swell forecasts of over 9.5 meters are predicted to hit Rottnest Island and Cape Naturaliste today.

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