Mungindi Supercellular Squall Line!

November 26, 2005

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These high instability and low shear days certainly test your patience!  Everytime you head to a cell it died and the one you wereYou would think that as you chase more and more that it would get easier to choose a target area, but no it just seems to get harder!  There were areas of interest, the upper trough trigger through the NWSP/W Downs and Eastern Maranoa, which extended southwards and intersected with the main surface trough in the CWSP and up through into the Upper Western in NSW.  I was unsure which one to play – I decided to play the northern edge though, even though I dearly wanted to be down in Orange and so forth but it was going to be too far for the following day.

I left pretty early for Goondiwindi, but even there the sky looked better south, so I headed down towards Moree.  Although the sky rapidly began to look better to the west with some distant CJs and some ACCAS in the sky with lots of sunflowers making a nice foreground for it all!

At Moree I sat there for a while, I watched a really nice cell bubble away on Mt Kaputah, while convection began to reign supreme from the W to NW.  I rang Dave Ellem and he said there was lots of convection too and a big line developing, but from my angle it still looked better to the NW.  I decided to head west though towards Collarenebri, as there was a road about 45km E of that that went northwards towards Mungindi, which was a place I wanted to get to eventually.  It was partially unsealed and the unsealed patches weren’t overly kind to the car, but two thirds of it was sealed so that was good!

While driving westwards, updrafts began to explode closer to my W and NW, it seemed that the upper trough was doing its thing in front of the surface trough. 

I decided to hang back as I noticed a nice cell to my WNW, so I went up the road a little – it seemed to be trying to do something but just didn’t want to do it!  It was generally moving NE’ish, and at one stage it appeared to split with the right mover soon collapsing. 

When I got to about 30km south of Mungindi it started to get more interesting!  The CGs were becoming much more active out the front, and the cell had an interesting look to it. 

I shot towards Mungindi and saw that there were spectacular hail and dust shafts protruding out from the cell – but the road went west into Mungindi before heading ENE towards Boomi!  A massive hail and hail foot was approaching towards me, and I could see the dust being picked up!  On the eastern edge of the cell, was a well rounded bowl-shaped RFB which I assume was a meso (if it wasn’t supercellular now it was to become supercellular!) 

I didn’t think I was going to make it, and had to hammer through the town – but just as the outflow was beginning to hit I got out and gunned it towards Boomi.

The concern I had was that there was a 50km dirt stretch coming up, and I knew I couldn’t go that fast.  But if there is one way to improve your dirt road driving skills it is to have a developing supercell on your tail! 

Although the storm didn’t move too quickly, so I was lucky there and was able to take shots of the evolution with a lovely meso on the NE edge, but then that eventually collapsed with rain occluding around it. 

However I was going along and then noted that to my SE there was strong rotation!  $#@$@(#@*  The car nearly spun as the brakes got hit on the dirt and I jumped out to see strong twisting under a new RFB and a small short lived needle funnel too!  I continued to head ENE on the road, but the outflow was too strong and it overran the meso.

However just E of Boomi it developed into a squall line and intensified rapidly again and produced a wonderful green guster and eerie tinge as it went over the town and crossed the road! 

Just awesome to watch with so many big pulsating CGs!!!  I went another 10km up the road, then stopped again to get photos of some awesome sunset RFBs to the NW and also to watch the dust! 

A dust storm developed and visibility went down to about 20m at times as a thick wall of dust came out from the storm with solid 70-80km/h outflow winds, gusting to 90-100km/h at times!

The dust began to clear and spread out closer to Goondiwindi, but it was still no good for photos or standing outside in the car, but just outside of Goondiwindi it was still windy but nowhere as much dust – so I setup the camera and was able to get a few CGs from the line as it came across which was a great way to end the day before staying at the pub in Gundy!!!  I don’t think this chase report or the photos does the day justice though, definitely something you need to experience first hand!