Late season thunderstorms occurred at a number of locations across the Hunter this afternoon. Freeman's Waterhole was whitened by the quantity of hail that fell. The hail fell with heavy showers and were only pea size. Around the suburbs of Tenambit, Raworth and East Maitland, many drains over flowed with the heavy downpours of rain and hail. This created road damage in some places. Muswellbrook and parts of the Central Coasts were also hit by the heavy rain and hail.

The storms became very active around 2:30 pm hitting very localised areas. Hail developed because the freezing level was quiet low, even though the tops of the cumulonimbus clouds were not high. Thunderstorms that occur at this time of year often have these characteristics, so therefore small hailstones often accompany these types of storms. 

back...