Spectacular Aussie storm captured
Picture: Brett Martin/perthweatherlive.com
Mother Nature put on a spectacular display off the coast of Onslow
yesterday, where a menacing-looking storm was captured on camera by a
tug boat worker.
Jurien Bay man Brett Martin and his colleagues were working west of
False Island when the thunderstorm, which had gathered dust and sand as
it developed, passed over Onslow and out to the Indian Ocean.
Mr Martin said the storm built up in a matter of minutes.
“We were steaming along in the boat just before sunset and the storm
was casually building in the distance, then it got faster and faster and
it went from glass to about 40 knots in two minutes,” he said.
“It was like a big dust storm under a thunderhead, there was a lot of lightning but not a lot of rain.”
Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Austen Watkins said the
stunning view was created as wind and rain caused the storm to dump the
sand and dust it had ingested while passing Onslow.
He said gusts of up to 102km/h were recorded from the thunderstorm at
about 7.30pm on Wednesday, and such storms were normal for the region
at this time of year.
The storm was unrelated to the looming Tropical Cyclone Narelle, he said.
Picture: Brett Martin/perthweatherlive.com
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