#haboobs

Stop using fossil fuels to help slow down climate change. 

And if Australia doesn’t have enough problems...

Golf ball-sized hail, a town engulfed by a giant dust storm, two people struck by lightning — and that's just 24 hours in Australia

Yep, Australia is experiencing an amazing variety of extreme weather conditions lately.

On the left of the image below we see Parliament House the week before last when smoke from regional bushfires was choking the capital city of Canberra. On the right we see the grounds of Parliament House this week covered with giant hailstones in the wake of a severe thunderstorm that would impress even Midwesterners in the US who are used to severe storms.

An Aussie media outlet called 9 News did this report on the more recent severe events.

In coverage elsewhere I saw parking lots where every car suffered at least one smashed window from the hailstorm.

Oh, and in central New South Wales, giant dust storms. These are known as haboobs in the Middle East. The Guardian has a short vid from NSW.

The monsoon pattern affecting the western region of the country is expected to persist for the next two to three days. This will result in daily thunderstorms during the afternoon hours, which may produce gusty winds, vivid lightning, and the potential for flash flooding. The most significant flooding concerns are anticipated in desert areas and canyons, where rainfall is likely to be…

After teasing us for nearly two weeks, the sky finally opened up and let loose. It was violent. The type of violence that only comes from the frustration of a thirteen day buildup. The wind had been a constant for more than a month, bringing along with it blindingly brilliant lightning strikes that illuminated the night’s sky. Every night there were breathtaking light shows. But no…