June 2012

During a weekend of heavy weather affecting areas on both sides of the continent, the spotty beam coming from Exmouth radar has remained visible in the west, and a heavy beam has been featuring from the Newcastle area in the east.

Beams on both sides of the country – June 11, 2012

The weekend saw northern Perth hit by two to tornadoes and winds whipping up the southwest corner at strengths comparable to a Category 2 cyclone, an event being hailed as a “once in a decade” storm.  After the worst of it passed there was this, from Perth radar:

Partial circles from Perth radar follow a “once in a decade” storm that lashed the west coast – June 11, 2012

Townsville was up next, with a subtle but still visible anomaly:

Flash wedges from Townsville -June 26, 2012

And today, June 26, 2012, Esperance radar gave the first serious green flash we’ve seen for some time.  You’ll also see the persistent spotty beam is still visible in the far west from Exmouth:

Esperance radar builds up to this climax with a series of partial flashes over a forty minute period – June 26

 

 

 

May 2012

May had a slow start with the radar relatively quiet for the first two weeks, other than the constant spotty beams that have been visible practically all over the east coast.

Then on May 16 from the Sydney or Wollongong radar came this strong circle.  It was difficult to pick which radar it actually came from. With it was an obvious beam from Canberra:

Sydney or Wollongong circle and Canberra beam – May 16, 2012

Esperance radar in the southwest was up next two days later with this spotty circle:

Esperance radar circle, May 18, 2012

Then on May 18 Geraldton came up with a purple circle, while to the north Karratha and Exmouth were also showing beams :

Geraldton purple circle, beams from Karratha and Exmouth – May 23, 2012

Cairns was up next with an odd beam formation we’ve not seen before:

An unusual beam formation from Cairns, the first of its type we have seen so far – May 25, 2012

 

 

April 2012

Adelaide has been showing a persistent beam for the last week or so, along with the usual dots from all over the east coast and irregular beams in the west. In the past day or two Darwin Airport started showing partial circles, and then came up with a couple of colourful fan-shapes today.

Fan-shaped beams from Darwin Airport – April 2, 2012

Soon after the Darwin fan shapes were some odd beams from Cairns and Bowen radars.

Cairns radar slicing an unusual beam right across the cape

Bowen radar shoots off a beam parallel to the Cairns one, which is still partially visible above it

Below is a look at the Adelaide beam which has been pretty well consistent for at least a week:

Adelaide, stuck on high beam for at least a week

Adelaide radar is still stuck on high beam; Canberra radar has been throwing up the odd beam of its own, and Willis Island had an almost full circular anomaly today.  This is the first time Willis Island has been seen to produce any anomaly since we began monitoring the radar at the time of Cyclone Yasi, fourteen months ago. It was followed three hours later by another colourful fan shape from Darwin, as shown below.

An almost full circle anomaly from Willis Island – April 3, 2012

Another fan-shaped anomaly from Darwin – April 3, 2012

 

This update has been slow in coming (it is now the end of May) but here are the rest of the anomalies that occurred during April.

First up on April 9 is a circle from Geraldton in the west. Meanwhile, Adelaide is still stuck on high beam.

Circular beam from Geraldton and strong beam still visible from Adelaide. April 9, 2012

Next up is this colourful circular flash from Broome the following day, April 10.

A circular flash from Broome, April 10, 2012

Then back to Geraldton two days later:

Circular flash from Geraldton, April 12, 2012

 

April 17 saw Canberra light up:

Strong circular flash from Canberra on April 17, 2012

The next series come from Bowen in Queensland on April 22:

March 2012

For the record, three quarters of the entire state of NSW has been either flooded or was/still is on flood watch these past weeks, along with massive areas of flooding in both Queensland and Victoria. More rain is forecast. Meanwhile, in the west, Perth has sweltered through a record eight heat-waves this summer – that is, eight periods of 3 or more consecutive days over 35 degrees Celsius.

The radar anomalies have still been coming regularly, although they mostly appear as subtle areas and circles of dots, as opposed to the more easily noticed solid or lined circles and beams.

Until today that is, which is interesting, given that the monsoon trough is active again, feeding moisture into a large tropical low that is forming off Western Australia, as well as another tropical system that is forming in the Top End. This means that two tropical cyclones are imminent in the next few days.

Play the loop to see how Geraldton radar looked today:

See : 512km Radar Loop for Geraldton, 08:00 12/03/2012 to 15:00 12/03/2012 UTC

But the action began sooner in the day, with strong beams coming from Dampier, Wyndham, and somewhere near but not centred on Halls Creek.

Strong dark beam coming from Wyndham - March 12, 2012

And another beam from Wyndham

Geraldton fires up.

Parallel beams from Wyndham (dark green) and Dampier

Beam from Halls Creek, although it doesn't appear centred at the the radar station

The following day, Carnarvon gets into the action too, with a circular anomaly.

Circular anomaly from Carnarvon early in the day - March 13, 2012

Update: 17/03/2012

One of the two tropical lows has become Severe Cyclone Lua, its crossing is imminent on WA’s Pilbara coastline later today, although it is also affecting large areas of the Kimberly. Alerts and watches reach from Broome all the way down to Dampier and inland to Jigalong.  A storm that is comparable in size to last year’s Cyclone Yasi, it is still some 200 km from the coast, is still intensifying and is already a high end category four system.

Play the loop to see Lua’s eye pass nearby the Rowley Shoals out at sea, and how the Learmonth radar at NWC, Exmouth has suddenly begun “glitching”.

See : 512km Radar Loop for Dampier, 01:00 16/03/2012 to 01:00 17/03/2012 UTC

And as Cyclone Lua makes its way inland after crossing at remote Pardoo there is this pair of beams from Cairns the following day:

Cairns radar gets into action on March 18, 2012 with a couple of beams

 

Is the action at Canarvon anything to do with the weather?

 

See : 128km Radar Loop for Carnarvon, 14:00 08/02/2012 to 14:00 09/02/2012 UTC

February 2012

February began with floods in many parts of Queensland, NSW, the Northern Territory and the Gascoyne region of WA, along with the dying days of Cyclone Iggy, which in the same fashion as Cyclone Heidi that came before it, managed to defy the models practically from start to finish. The radar anomalies for the month so far have been subtle, but noticeable all the same.

Things began in Newcastle, with this broader than usual beam:

A hefty beam from Newcastle, Feb 1, 2012

Then more Namoi weirdness. Check this loop out from Feb 2.

See : 256km Radar Loop for Namoi, 23:00 01/02/2012 to 13:00 02/02/2012 UTC

Then down to Woomera on Feb 4 with some odd spiral movement happening in the southern region only of the radar:

Hours of arc shaped beams spiral back and forth south of the Woomera radar as rain approaches Adelaide - Feb 4, 2012

The evening of Feb 5 saw the north west getting back into the no clouds in sight but a lot of action on the radar routine. There were also partial radar circles visible on the Exmouth side of the radar only. Here’s how it looks on the loop:

See : 512km Radar Loop for Port Headland, 03:00 05/02/2012 to 03:00 06/02/2012 UTC

They began late on Feb 6 and continued through the night into Feb 7 – partial circles and beams and cloud that isn’t. You guessed it, we’re back in the Dampier / Port Hedland region again…

See : 512km Radar Loop for Dampier, 02:00 06/02/2012 to 02:00 07/02/2012 UTC

No cloud in the Port Hedland region

Circles and beams from Port Hedland - sure looks cloudy, doesn't it?

Feb 9, 2012 saw Carnarvon burst back into life after a long quiet spell:

Carnarvon's first show for several months - Feb 9, 2012

Followed up later the same day by a show from Gove radar:

Odd circular action from Gove - Feb 9 2012

Here it is on the loop:

See : 512km Radar Loop for Gove, 02:00 09/02/2012 to 15:00 09/02/2012 UTC

The Gove circles began on the evening of the Feb 9 and continue through into Feb 10.  Now, compare the national radar to the national cloud satellite:

Note the radar "weather" in the far north and in the west...at Exmouth, home of the NWC ionospheric heater

Once again, there is no cloud to justify several areas showing weather on the radar

Here’s a closer look at what’s happening at the Learmonth site on the west coast, near the home of the NWC ionospheric heater:

The NWC Ionoshperic heating signature? It sure isn't weather, not a cloud in sight in that area on the satellite - Feb 10, 2011

The oddities continue on the Feb 10, with Weipa radar displaying circles that mimic those across the Gulf from Gove:

Weipa circles and dots galore along the east coast - Feb 10, 2012

Gove still showing sporadic rings - Feb 10, 2012

Townsville also gets into the action with several beams

Townsville beaming toward the circular action - Feb 10, 2012

And further south, well, there’s dots and beams spraying out in straight lines and spokes from several places, including Gympie, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Yarrawonga, Wagga Wagga and Newcastle. Here’s a sample of one moment in time:

Several beams and dots in the south east - action plus! - Feb 10, 2012

What the hell is going on in the north??  Circles overlapping from not two, but THREE places – this is something we have not seen before.  Check out this loop, and stop it to see the third ring coming from Mornington Island at Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:00:00 GMT:

See : 512km Radar Loop for Mornington Island, 16:00 09/02/2012 to 16:00 10/02/2012 UTC

Now look at the following Weipa loop.  Aside from all the circles, there’s also what looks like a spectrum line, without the usual range of spectrum colours mind you, apparently coming from the ocean.  You’ll see it if you stop the loop at  Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:20:00 GMT  -look for the “T” in Thud Point.  You’ll also notice that the line coincides with an intensity at the Weipa radar site.  Here, check it out: 

See : 512km Radar Loop for Weipa, 16:00 09/02/2012 to 16:00 10/02/2012 UTC

Geraldton kicked into gear today (Feb 15, 2012) with a couple of oddities. First was a partial circle:

Partial circle from Geraldton - Feb 15, 2012

Right after that came a strange anomaly – another partial circle seems to cross the first circle at an angle, but does not seem to be centred on Geraldton. A keen eye will also notice the dotty circles from Esperance at the same location that the beam is coming from. The beam however, is most likely due to sun-coincidence.

Crossed circles in Geraldton area with spotty circles from Esperance - Feb 12, 2012

You can see all the action here from the Kalgoorlie 512 km overlay, including a spectrum line from Kalgoorlie radar:

See : 512km Radar Loop for Kalgoorlie-Boulder, 04:00 15/02/2012 to 13:00 15/02/2012 UTC

Meanwhile, across the country on the east coast there has also been plenty of action for the past few days. Today was more of the same:

See : 512km Radar Loop for Namoi, 13:00 14/02/2012 to 13:00 15/02/2012 UTC

And this:

See : 512km Radar Loop for Yarrawonga, 13:00 14/02/2012 to 13:00 15/02/2012 UTC

And finally this, from Mackay. The thick broken beams you will see in the below loop have been shooting from Mackay for days. There have also been many reports of the sudden onset of severe headaches and other unusual physical symptoms afflicting people in this area lately:

See : 512km Radar Loop for Mackay, 13:00 14/02/2012 to 13:00 15/02/2012 UTC

In the north of Western Australia from Exmouth to Broome, the heavy radar action is still occurring, regardless that the cloud satellite shows that should not be the case.

Exmouth to Broome in the northwest with clear skies - Feb 15, 2012Exmouth to Broome in the northwest with much radar action, regardless of the clear skies... Feb 15, 2012

January, 2012

The anomalies started out a few days into the new year with a partial circle from Darwin, followed up by a sneaky circle barely visible from Emerald.

Darwin circle - Jan 3, 2011

Emerald ring is only just visible, Jan 3, 2012

Just to prove that is Emerald

Next up was Namoi giving up a flash of varying degrees over several hours on January 8,  throughout the passage of a severe thunderstorm.

See : 512km Radar Loop for Namoi, 05:00 08/01/2012 to 19:00 08/01/2012 UTC

Three days later was the spectacular green flash from Katherine, which seemed to be all Cyclone Heidi needed to kick start the rotation that saw her surprise everyone by intensifying to an almost category three system before crossing close to Port Hedland.  See more about Cyclone Heidi here.

Katherine flash coincides with Cyclone Heidi - Jan 11, 2012

It’s back to Namoi again on the January 17th, along with an odd show at the same time in Geraldton. Interestingly, the two places are some 3,500 km apart and in a direct line with each other.  You’d be forgiven for thinking they could be part of an over the horizon radar network…

The radar is showing a ragged but intense semi circular return that doesn't relate to the visible cloud in Geraldton. Note: the time on this picture is WST - which is 6:40PM, or 18:40 in EDT

At the same time, in a direct line across the country, Namoi has a circle that persists for three hours, and ends with a heavy beam.

Here you see the synchronised shows from Geraldton in the west and Namoi in the east

Now look at the Namoi loop.  It appears that the prolonged flash caused any rain within the scope of the radar to dissipate, as though the temperature of the region has altered (heated?). Then, the rain coming westward into the altered area also dissipates – it just can’t get close to that radar.  Check it out:

See : 256km Radar Loop for Namoi, 19:00 16/01/2012 to 23:00 17/01/2012 UTC

It is also interesting how the beam is present in the final frame of the circle.  This seems to be a new thing with Namoi, it also happened on the 8th.

What is it with Namoi lately?  In this loop from January 22, 2012, once again something going on at the Namoi radar site appears to be firstly repelling an incoming storm, and then simply dissolving it into nothingness.  Check it out:

See : 256km Radar Loop for Namoi, 23:00 20/01/2012 to 14:00 21/01/2012 UTC

Yarrawonga has come up with another anomaly that is new to us, this stunning pink, red, yellow and green partial circle in the early hours of January 26, 2012.  As opposed to a spectrum beam, this one has to be coined as a ‘spectrum flash’.  It was there and gone in one 10 minute increment of the radar cycle at 2am local time – so  it’s probably safe to assume the technicians didn’t get out of bed to rectify a simple software glitch…

Colourful 'spectrum flash' anomaly from Yarrawonga - Jan 26, 2011

A closer view

Here’s how it looked at Yarrawonga on the loop – a very strange lead up to the flash:

See : 128km Radar Loop for Yarrawonga, 07:00 25/01/2012 to 17:00 25/01/2012 UTC

Meanwhile, the weather around the country is certainly worth noting:

• Cyclone Iggy is forming off the WA coast, and at this time, it is forecast to become at least a category 3 storm
• The south of the state is into its third day of what looks like it will be at least a nine day heat wave, with temperatures in the 40’s across much of the area
• Still in WA, bush fires have burnt about three quarters of a million hectares and are still burning in the Gascoyne region thanks to lightning strikes
• Up to 400 millimetres of rain fell across parts of Queensland over the past few days, causing widespread flash flooding that has cut roads, isolated some communities and prompted evacuations in others
• The same system is dumping rain now in New South Wales, causing flash flooding, swollen rivers, overflowing dams and the evacuation of 4,200 people in the far NSW north coast
•  And the Top End is experiencing heavy rain, flooding and winds from stormy weather created by a strong monsoon trough

December 2011

December began with a couple of flashes and more of the same “cloudless rain” on the west coast.  First up was a circular flash from Sydney:

See : 512km Radar Loop for Sydney (Terrey Hills), 00:00 01/12/2011 to 15:00 01/12/2011 UTC

That was followed later in the afternoon by another circular flash from Albany. Read Cliffhanger’s related weather update here.

Circular flash from Albany, Dec 1, 2011

The picture below shows the clear skies on the north west coast, while the picture following it shows the radar telling a completely different story.  Again.

Dec 1, 2011 - no cloud

Broome to Exmouth apparently raining, regardless that there's not a cloud in sight

You’ll also notice in the above image that Darwin is not only sending out a strong and longer than usual beam, it also has a faint circular flash occurring.  The beams had been happening regularly since late afternoon, and all of them were directed toward the middle third of Timor.

Strong beams coming from Katherine for approximately two hours beginning about 1pm Dec 13, 2011

Spec lines, radar beams and more of the same along the Pilbara coast - Dec 13, 2011

A couple of good beams from Darwin on the 15th:

Dec 15, 2011Katherine and Dampier still beaming - Dec 17, 2011

Geraldton circle and a spec line from Giles - Dec 21, 2011

November 2011

November kicked off with a ring from Adelaide’s Buckland Park radar:

Adelaide ring, November 1, 2011

Interestingly, spectrum lines began coming from both Adelaide radars the next day  – I had not noticed any from this area prior to this time.

Nov 2, 2011 - Adelaide spectrum line

Two days later was a decent circular flash from Esperance, along with a few other bits and pieces.  The red lines in the picture below were added by me to show that the Wagga Wagga and Dampier beams while not only being synchronised, are also parallel:

Parallel beams and other odd things, Nov 4, 2011

 

The following day Newcastle showed a messy-looking circular flash – here’s how it looked on the loop:

See : 512km Radar Loop for Newcastle, 09:00 05/11/2011 to 23:00 05/11/2011 UTC

Sydney follows up with a ring on the 9th:

Strong ring from Sydney, Nov 9, 2011

November 14th seems to have been a day of editing out images from the WZ radar – at least it looks that way if you compare the following two shots taken at the same time:

Note the circle and beams on the Queensland coast from Rockhampton

Where are the Rockhampton spotty circle and heavy beams in the east?

Meanwhile in the west, Dampier was very busy beaming throughout the day – check it out on the loop:

See : 512km Radar Loop for Dampier, 00:00 14/11/2011 to 23:00 14/11/2011 UTC

The following day saw intense radar action from the Carnarvon to Port Hedland region in WA – only there was no weather around to justify any of it:

Why is this radar image like this? Nov 15, 2011

No cloud in the area of high radar activity. Why?

Here’s how Carnarvon looked as that radar mass was forming:

Well-defined circle of non-weather, Nov 15, 2011

It wasn’t only Carnarvon though, Exmouth, Dampier, Pt Hedland – all of them were doing it:

See : 512km Radar Loop for Carnarvon, 00:00 15/11/2011 to 23:00 15/11/2011 UTC

So while that west coast weirdness continued overnight and into the following day,  radars in other parts of Australia started acting up, starting with a spec line from Adelaide, which was visible on the national radar, and the South Australia radar: but not on the Adelaide radar.

Adelaide spectrum line - Nov 16, 2011

Adelaide spec line visible on SA map - Nov 16, 2011

So why isn't it in this shot? Note: 04:30 EDT = 04:00 CDT

Rockhampton circle and beams back again, along with strong beam further south from Sydney area

The Port Hedland radar imagining weather two days later:

Port Hedland beams and circles - minus any actual weather in the vicinity... Nov 18, 2011

No weather near Pt Hedland

Rockhampton dotty circle and beams are now visible on Weatherzone - Nov 18, 2011

..Still happening on both sides of the country two days later - Nov 20, 2011

And still happening the next day too:

And still again the following day. Nov 21, 2011

A sneaky beam from Katherine

Weipa beam, Nov 22, 2011

Albany fires up with a circular flash while Rockhampton is still at it in the east - Nov 22, 2011

The 23rd was just action plus on the east coast.

Beams from Wollongong and Rockhampton - Nov 23, 2011

Beam from Wagga Wagga, and Rockhampton

Beam from Newcastle, and if you look closely, from Rockhampton

A better look at what's happening in Rockhampton, Nov 23, 2011

In the early hours of the next day, Nov 24th, Port Hedland has a sneaky circle visible:

Faint circle from Port Hedland, Nov 24, 2011

Followed later in the day by yet another discrepancy between Weatherzone and Weather Channel:

Circle clearly visible in Sydney

And clearly not visible in this screen shot

More discrepancies between radars and cloud satellite two days later on the 26th:

The cloud doesn't match the radar in the north west again - Nov 26, 2011

Look to the west of Ceduna and compare it to the next pic of the radar, Nov 26, 2011

That looks like cloud and/or rain heading toward Ceduna, but it isn't

Two days later on Nov 28th there’s no cloud on the satellite, but apparently a heap of it on the radar.  What is this, a month-long “glitch”?

Once again, no cloud visible in the Karratha to Broome area

There's that "weather" again, and a beam for good measure - Nov 28, 2011

The same thing is happening over 'the top end' - the Northern Territory with no cloud Nov 28, 2011

Mystery radar NT style (includes Alice Springs and Tennant Creek) - Nov 28, 2011

October 2011

I missed a fair chunk of radar watching this month.  However I did notice this loop from October 14th and 15th, with strong and mostly constant beams coming from Rockhampton.  There are no images available on the Rockhampton loop, so here’s how it looked as an overlay on the Emerald loop – watch for the unusual intensity at Emerald toward the end:

See : 512km Radar Loop for Emerald, 23:00 13/10/2011 to 17:00 15/10/2011 UTC

It gets even busier when you head south from there and watch the 512km loop from Namoi. It’s hard to know just where to look, but keep an eye on Newcastle as well.  Sped up to 40 frames per second makes for interesting viewing too (use the + sign in Controls):

See : 512km Radar Loop for Namoi, 23:00 13/10/2011 to 17:00 15/10/2011 UTC

Also within the same time frame was spectrum line activity from Wyndham in the north and West Takone in North West Tasmania:

Fri 14 Sat 15 (GMT)
05:00 00:00
05:50 00:10
15:40 00:30
15:50 12:50
16:00 13:00
16:10 13:10
16:20
16:30
23:50

Along with a sustained set of lines from NW Tas:
Sat 15 (GMT)
04:00
04:10
04:20
04:30
04:40

There also seemed to be an awful lot of something in Carnarvon coming from very little cloud:

See : 256km Radar Loop for Carnarvon, 16:00 14/10/2011 to 16:00 15/10/2011 UTC

As seems to also be the case from Carnarvon all the way up to Broome:

Radar showing rain but there's not a cloud in sight, October 15, 2011

No visible cloud - so what is that radar showing? October 15, 2011

In fact, from Geraldton south to Albany has the most cloud and the least radar action. Strange day indeed.