Stormy weather over Tamworth this week. Photo: Ray Woods
WEATHER watchers will get a taste of a forecast hot September weekend today with the temperature expected to top 28 degrees Celsius in Tamworth.
The blast of heat is ahead of what the Bureau of Meteorology predicts will be the warmest September weekend on record, when the mercury should reach 28 degrees on Sunday. The spring heat comes only days after heavy thunderstorms swept across the region. Tuesday night saw thunderstorms and hailstorms hammer some areas as a low-pressure trough swept east across the state.
According to the bureau, the storms moved so fast they failed to deliver any good falls of rain on the slopes and plains, with Tamworth only getting 5mm, although some areas around Kingswood reported up to 47mm.
The wet weather caught some people on the hop – like one Inverell postie doing his rounds. He was pictured on the job by Inverell Times reader Geoff Miller, who said the hailstorm hit in the mid-afternoon and delivered a short but solid dump of hail that left the town looking like it was covered in snow.
Despite the storm, there were no reports of damage and the town recorded 24mm of much-needed rain.
Tamworth weather watcher Ray Woods also captured a picture of the storm making its way across Tamworth.
But Tuesday night’s wild weather event has gone and made way for the high-pressure system now moving across the state. It should deliver a top of 28 degrees today, although tomorrow and Saturday will be a couple of degrees cooler before Sunday heats up again.
The bureau predicts a colder front blowing in on Sunday night, with the chance of more scattered showers at the start of next week.