4th-6th June 2003

These 3 days were significant due to the extreme weather experienced in many areas of the state. These included severe winds over 100km/h, a tornado in Salisbury, thunderstorms, hail, flooding, and duststorms.
On the 4th June a strong low and associated cold pool was situated SW of Kangaroo Island with a central pressure around 982hpa. Strong to gale force NW to W winds were blowing south around the low, while another strong frontal series and cold pool were moving rapidly NE around the back of the first low which hit the SA coast on the 5th. A low of 978hpa formed south of KI with this second system.

Not long after I got home from work at 5.30pm the first pre-frontal rain band moved through the suburbs producing some scattered heavy falls as shown on the radar on the left.

This rain cleared reasonably quickly, and after a couple of hours the low was already upon us. I was leaving my Table Tennis match at Para Vista at about 10.30pm when I first noticed some lighting out west. Received a call from Jono saying that he and Chris Smitt were heading up to Windy point to check it out. He informed me there seemed to be a squall line approaching. I headed home to check the radar myself and sure enough there was!

Initially the line headed for points Adelaide and south but then it seemed to form another line on its back which moved up towards the northern suburbs. Very quickly it approached with winds becoming stronger. When the main squall hit it was quite nasty with plenty of small hail, severe winds, numerous Cgs, and heavy rain.

It was over quickly, but pretty soon I was hearing reports of damage on the radio and numerous blackouts.  Little was I to know that this squall had produced a tornado!

I woke up the next morning at about 6.30am to hear reports from the SES about a possible tornado in the Sailsbury area. The SES chief said that up to 50 trees had been knocked down in just one street alone as well as damage to several houses. 
As the day wore on it was established that indeed a small tornado had touched down in a couple of streets. ASWA member, Andrew Wall, did a damage inspection later in the afternoon and estimated it to have been an F0.
His map of the damage path is on the right.

Newspaper Photo of tree damage in Bantanga Crescent. (click for enlarged view)

Newspaper articles regarding the tornado and severe storms. (click on image to view)

Also on the morning of the 5th we did get one intense cell move over us. I was at work when it hit about 9.15am with very heavy rain and several CG's.

The BOM did actually forecast similar severe conditions on the evening of the 5th with the secondary front but these didn't eventuate for the suburbs. Severe winds did affect many parts of the Adelaide Hills and the Fleurieu Peninsula. Gale force wind strength was maintained at Strathalbyn for an incredible 9 hours!
Highest wind gusts from the 2 days were 122km/h at Mt Lofty and Sellicks Hill, 111km/h at Cape Jaffa, 105km/h at Strathalbyn, and 104km/h at Neptune Island. South East areas received the most rain from storms with 54 mm at Penola, 50 mm at Coonawarra and 44 mm at Parawa.

After the secondary front had passed during the night we were still left in very strong gale force winds with heavy showers from the cold pool the next day.
Heavy rain fell through the hills and suburbs particularly in the middle of the day, causing some flash flooding.
An area between Clarendon and Meadows seemed to have recorded the most. An unofficial reading of 73mm at Scotts Bottom. Tim Thorpe did capture some photos of the flooding in the area with some of these below. Please see his website Hillsrain for more details and photos.

An unfortunate part of the severe winds on the 6th was the dust-storms it produced over the Murraylands especially in the area around Cambrai.
An amazing photo of the sand drifts was in the newspaper article on the right. (click for enlargement)

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