Rassila
23-09-09, 07:41 AM
Sydney wakes to red dawn
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200909/r440527_2124816.jpg (http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200909/r440527_2124821.jpg)
Red shroud: The scene in Broken Hill yesterday (AAP: Boris Halvica)
Map: Sydney 2000 (http://www.abc.net.au/news/maps/map.htm?lat=-33.8631&long=151.2043&caption=Sydney%202000)
Related Story: Wild weather: quakes, hail, fires, dust (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/22/2693608.htm)
Related Link: Send us your photos or video (http://www.abc.net.au/news/upload/)
Sydney and large parts of NSW are shrouded in dust this morning as the state experiences severe winds and unseasonably warm temperatures.
Bureau of Meteorology spokeswoman Jane Golding said dust had settled on much of the state, including Sydney.
"It's pretty widespread," she said.
"We've had reports of low visibility up out as far up as Moree, Dubbo, Canberra's got some raised dust in the area and Wollongong, so it's very widespread."
The Bureau has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds in Sydney with a gale warning issued for Sydney closed waters.
All Sydney ferry services have been cancelled this morning and international flights have been diverted to Brisbane and Melbourne.
Ms Golding said the weather system was moving in from the west and Sydney could expect dusty conditions throughout the morning.
Gale force winds of up to 100kph hit the Hunter region before moving through Sydney early this morning.
"Dubbo's still in pretty thick dust. The dust will last a bit but we're also expecting those winds to pick up as well."
Yesterday gale force winds whipped up heavy dust storms and powerful electrical storms across parts of New South Wales.
The NSW State Emergency Service received more than 150 calls for assistance overnight as the gale force winds struck.
Twenty five calls for help came from Broken Hill and 40 from the small town of Crookwell, between Canberra and Sydney, where hail the size of cricket balls has fallen.
The remaining calls were scattered across the state, as far up as Port Macquarie and down to the Victorian border.
The winds will also reach parts of Victoria, where a flash flooding warning has been issued.
Fire threat
A fire weather warning has been issued for southern parts of Queensland and northern parts of New South Wales today.
Fire crews have contained a bushfire that was threatening homes on Macleay Island, between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, overnight.
Police evacuated homes in the area as a precaution, while they burnt off the areas surrounding them.
Strong winds fanned the flames.
Homes are no longer under threat, but fire crews are still working to put out the blaze.
Earthquakes
Two small earthquakes struck Melbourne's south-east in quick succession last night.
A quake measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale occurred about 20 kilometres south of Frankston around 6:20pm AEST.
A magnitude 3.0 tremor struck further south 14 seconds later.
Residents have reported hearing a loud noise and feeling the ground shake, but the State Emergency Service says it has not received any reports of damage.
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200909/r440527_2124816.jpg (http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200909/r440527_2124821.jpg)
Red shroud: The scene in Broken Hill yesterday (AAP: Boris Halvica)
Map: Sydney 2000 (http://www.abc.net.au/news/maps/map.htm?lat=-33.8631&long=151.2043&caption=Sydney%202000)
Related Story: Wild weather: quakes, hail, fires, dust (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/22/2693608.htm)
Related Link: Send us your photos or video (http://www.abc.net.au/news/upload/)
Sydney and large parts of NSW are shrouded in dust this morning as the state experiences severe winds and unseasonably warm temperatures.
Bureau of Meteorology spokeswoman Jane Golding said dust had settled on much of the state, including Sydney.
"It's pretty widespread," she said.
"We've had reports of low visibility up out as far up as Moree, Dubbo, Canberra's got some raised dust in the area and Wollongong, so it's very widespread."
The Bureau has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds in Sydney with a gale warning issued for Sydney closed waters.
All Sydney ferry services have been cancelled this morning and international flights have been diverted to Brisbane and Melbourne.
Ms Golding said the weather system was moving in from the west and Sydney could expect dusty conditions throughout the morning.
Gale force winds of up to 100kph hit the Hunter region before moving through Sydney early this morning.
"Dubbo's still in pretty thick dust. The dust will last a bit but we're also expecting those winds to pick up as well."
Yesterday gale force winds whipped up heavy dust storms and powerful electrical storms across parts of New South Wales.
The NSW State Emergency Service received more than 150 calls for assistance overnight as the gale force winds struck.
Twenty five calls for help came from Broken Hill and 40 from the small town of Crookwell, between Canberra and Sydney, where hail the size of cricket balls has fallen.
The remaining calls were scattered across the state, as far up as Port Macquarie and down to the Victorian border.
The winds will also reach parts of Victoria, where a flash flooding warning has been issued.
Fire threat
A fire weather warning has been issued for southern parts of Queensland and northern parts of New South Wales today.
Fire crews have contained a bushfire that was threatening homes on Macleay Island, between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, overnight.
Police evacuated homes in the area as a precaution, while they burnt off the areas surrounding them.
Strong winds fanned the flames.
Homes are no longer under threat, but fire crews are still working to put out the blaze.
Earthquakes
Two small earthquakes struck Melbourne's south-east in quick succession last night.
A quake measuring 2.6 on the Richter scale occurred about 20 kilometres south of Frankston around 6:20pm AEST.
A magnitude 3.0 tremor struck further south 14 seconds later.
Residents have reported hearing a loud noise and feeling the ground shake, but the State Emergency Service says it has not received any reports of damage.