A band of thunderstorms marched across northern Tas and the nearby waters on Monday, with Total Lightning Network capturing thousands of strikes.
This band of rain and thunderstorms stretched 1200km between southern NSW and Tas ahead of a strong cold front which passed over the region early Tuesday morning, April 2.
The animation below shows thunderstorms sweeping across northern Tas on Monday afternoon.
Image: Himawari-9 satellite image showing lightning (pink) and rain on the radar (green shades) during the three hours leading up to 4:30pm AEDT on Monday, April 1.
Total Lightning Network captured 11,648 lightning strikes over Tas and the nearby waters on Monday, April 1.
The map above shows that the state’s north copped the brunt of the heavy rainfall and thunderstorms, with Western Creek at Banktown Road recording 87mm in the 24 hours leading up to 9am on Tuesday, April 2. During the same period, Sheffield Farm School in the state’s north recorded its wettest day in 27 years of records, with 66.4mm falling.
These thunderstorms occurred over locations that typically see around 1-2 lightning days a year on average. The map below shows the annual lightning density over Australia with the most lightning occurring across northeastern Tas, with around 5-10 lightning days per year recorded in some areas.
Image: Annual lightning density showing average pulses per sq.km per year between 2015-2021 captured by Total Lightning Network (WZTLN).
While lightning is not as frequent across parts of Tas as it is in NSW, southeast Qld and the tropics, thunderstorms can be severe when they do hit, potentially damaging your assets.
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