Storm Spotters Australia

Flash back - 2015/16 Season

18 Minutes of highlights of the top 5 of our storm chases so far with Michael Keene, Chris Adams & David Metcalf representing the best of Storm Spotters Australia / Illawarra Storm Chasers.

Queenslanders are urged to prepare now with the release of the Bureau of Meteorology's tropical cyclone outlook today pointing toward a more active cyclone season this year.

Bureau of Meteorology Acting Regional Director Bruce Gunn said the warmer weather brings with it increased risks with the onset of the northern Australia fire season in spring, storms - as we have already seen in Brisbane last weekend - and of course cyclones and flooding.

What is a microburst?

A microburst is a small downdraft that is the opposite of a tornado and are found inside rather strong thunderstorms. The difference between a microburst and a tornado are that tornados pull air in, and microbursts push air out, and tornadoes usually have the appearance of swirling wind.

There are two types:
* Dry Microburst
* Wet Microburst

There are also three stages of a microburst
* Downburst
* Outburst
* Cushion

TORNADO INFORMATION POST

I have noticed a site (I use that term loosely) referring to the Tornadoes that took place in South Australia and refering to them and their associated damage in the EF Scale or The Enhanced Fujita scale (EF-Scale) rates the intensity of tornadoes in the United States and Canada based on the damage they cause.

For the correct information here in Australia we DO NOT use the EF Scale we still use the Fujita F-scalewhich.
Tornadoes are ranked using the estimates wind speed based on the extent and severity of damage.