Happy New Year! I hope your year turns out to be fruitful and pleasant. Sympathies for the bad news you and your family have had to endure. It is part of life’s pains.

What is it this year with the storms! How explosive was that last lot! Some impressive structures and intense supercells this year on the north coast. Down here, we are stuggling to produce any storms - very low below average and we have had one half hearted attempt of a low topped version a month or so ago. Even the Hunter has relatively been down. So now we have to endure some heat after yesterday’s storms over the ranges.

Imelda and Kimberly are doing well - Imelda goes for a pregnancy check-up tomorrow.

Regards,

Jimmy Deguara

Northern Star

Michael

Take a look at this clip of tornadoes, giant hailstones and incredible lightning.

{Michael, add your video here as well}

Jimmy

Michael,

It has been a long time on here between drinks:) Well, let’s see. I have been to the Philippines, back, up the coast with your family as well as work commitments, got engaged and then lucky enough to top that week off with a tornado! Holy crap!

I decided to propose to Imelda given the distance we were having to deal with, the uncertainty in what we were having to deal with and quite simply, we want to be with one another sooner than later. Imelda accepted with full emotions. And then the emotions poored out once again when the flower arrived - she simply was nto expecting them! And of course I had to be there basically the whole day chatting with her - and she did not know what was to come. Both Imeld, Kim and I are happy about the prospect fo a future together. I guess once things come into being, it will all settle down. I guess it is part of a honey moon period of happiness one would wish never ends.

Then of course the tornado took everyone by surprise including myself. who would have thought that you would wake up in the morning of the 26th October 2007, chase storms and by the end of the day bag a tornado. Goodness - the thought of it still scares me. I cannot believe and seriously could not really tell at the time that I was too damn close. Debris falling were trees and parts of sheeting iron. I nightmare situation I guess. But as I always say, you live to tell the tale. For those who have not bumped into the Dunoon tornado, check here:

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=1SD_OzpQaU8#cToLf0Rfoag

 Michael, can you post your favourite damage pictures from the event. Quite scary and lucky people were not killed in the event!

Regards,

Jimmy Deguara

I will post some recent pictures here soon. Today could see some poweful storms again in NE NSW and SE QLD - will depend on how things dry out though DPs remain healthy so far today.

There were some impressive storms across eastern NSW which produced so much lightning in areas where people were enjoying their holidays - someone had to be hit! The man touching a mast was struck but luckily not to be killed. This happened in the Hunter region.

Some impressive storms occurred including hail to 6cm at Comboyne with more incredibly structured storms in the Northern Rivers. We were able to view the aftermath of the hailstorm that went through Cooronbong and there still was hailstones lying there 4 hours later.

The 16th Nov chase was great - so much lightning on the day too. I don’t normally try to get much lightning on video , but this day was a gift - even apart from all the severe weather !

Then the 20th November we had some severe storms locally - with the beautiful shelf cloud structures that developed over a wide area.

Some major storms developed near Brisbane today with incredible structure. Definitely a supercell tending to a squall line later near Cabulture. The earlier cells seemed to have some of the larger hail although there was a warning for very large hail north of Brisbane. Lots of insurance claims I can tell you from all the damage!

This follows the storm on the 15th November in the lower Hunter near Cessnock and Maitland which may have had an elevated mesocyclone though looked spectacular all the same.

Jimmy

Michael, that storm you intercepted near Casino and the storm near Grafton was simply amazing to watch as they exploded even on radar - classic supercells in isolation. That is what one calls an incredible afteroon’s chasing - well done! That certainly looks like a beaver tail in the first photograph.

Jimmy