27000 Strikes Of Lightning!

Photo: Aaron Kelly                                                              Photo: Anthony Gerace

27,000 strikes of lightning, 90km/h winds, 100mm of rainfall, and over 50,000properties without power!

Brisbane has made it through four storms merging together affecting areas including the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Beaudesert, Mt Tamborine, Kingaroy, Ipswich, Esk, Brisbane inner city, Dalby, Gympie, Somerset and Redlands.

I woke up yesterday morning, looked outside and saw a beautiful and hot sunny day. Who would have thought that such a bright morning could turn into the intense storm we experienced in just a few short hours? Running a bit late, I missed the morning news, and was totally unprepared for the storm to come. I was completely surprised when at about 3:30pm I was called outside to see the sky as dark as night, and feel the temperature drop so dramatically since my lunch break. A drop from 35C to 22C was definitely detectable, and this, along with the strong winds and the dark sky, the atmosphere was eerie as we awaited the storm. Short of a few quick trips home to move our cars, and calls of advice to our family and friends, we were unaffected, and I count myself lucky as the only impact I experienced from the storm was getting drenched delivering a course package to one of my students for our practical hypnotherapy training.

The storm, however lucky I was, did leave an impact on many others. Flash flooding in many suburbs, storm damage, strong winds and hail all played their part and it is for this reason I wish you all good luck, and  sincerely hope you are all safe and haven’t suffered too much damage.

I would love to know how you fared in the storm so leave a comment and let me know you’re OK!

Photos from: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/weather/family-rescued-power-cut-as-storms-lash-seq-20110221-1b1hk.html

Information from:
ABC Brisbane, 21/02/11, updated on 22/02/11, ABC/AAP, http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/21/3144629.htm?site=brisbane

and

HeraldSun, 22/02/11, Anthony Gough and Anna Chisolm, http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/severe-storms-forecast-for-queensland-south-east/story-e6frf716-1226009584456