December 26, 2003 - Boxing Day Lightning
Written by Anthony Cornelius   
Sunday, 21 September 2008 00:00

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Boxing Day evening provided some great storms to photograph with some spectacular close CGs right outside my home!

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After an oppressive Christmas Day with no storms in our immediate area, apart from some stuff to the north...

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It was quite nice to see early development on Boxing Day!  By 11am it was already pushing 36C with DPs in the low 20s, reaching the mid 20s along the coast.  The cap broke much earlier, with a nice tower to the south which just exploded!

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It soon produced a nice wallcloud under the main updraft region, however with the low shear it moved slowly (and unfavourably too, going ESE) and soon collapsed. 

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Some other cells developed to the north but they were mostly pulsey.  I had to work during the afternoon, but finished at around 4:30pm.

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I thought I was in luck with a few cells developing just to my west on the ranges!  However they couldn't quite survive and looked quite capped and a little dryish.  One of the problems when it gets really hot is that it means the PBL is much deeper, and a higher chance of drier air mixing down even if the dry air is relatively high in the lower atmosphere! 

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I was encouraged to see a line of storms develop around Moree though and they were moving slowly ENE in the late afternoon.  I was tempted to drive down to Inglewood or Gundy for lightning, but being quite tired I decided to hang back for a bit.  The line intensified on its approach to Warwick but collapsed again, however soon after the outflow from those storms kicked up some storms on the ranges.  Originally lightning was only infrequent (every 10 seconds or so), but soon it picked up with constant thunder and lightning every second.  At the height, lightning was 2-3 flashes a second across the line!  Most of the CGs were distant though, positioned just north of Warwick.  However one cell just to my NW became quite lightning active for a while and produced some awesome CGs!!!  Most were only a few kilometres away, and I was able to get some of my first full frame CGs on camera!  Was great to watch, I was sitting down on the back verandah with a drink clicking away with the camera - was fantastic and almost felt too easy and comfortable!!!  We got some heavy rain once the cell moved over but the lightning decreased, so around 2am I headed off to bed (had to start work at 6:30am).  Anyway, click on the below images to get larger sizes!

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Please don't use these images without permission!  Please email me first. 

Click here for more information about using or purchasing photos.

Last Updated ( Friday, 31 October 2008 12:10 )