I See Red, I See Red, I See Red

By David Allen on October 27, 2010 in News

Last September I remember waking up to a sight unlike anything I had ever seen. An eerie red haze filled the morning skies of Sydney. I didn’t know what to think! Could the end be nigh?

My daughter came running into the bedroom and asked me: “Why is the sky so red daddy?” Being in the weather game the best I could come up with at six in the morning was that Santa Claus had arrived early!

To the detriment of our children’s happiness, Santa Claus did not get his timing wrong. Rather, the dust storm was caused by strong winds that swept through drought stricken inland areas of NSW and South Australia and carried vast amounts of dust eastward. The fiery haze was the result of the sun hitting a thick blanket of dust.

The potential hazards of such a dust storm are many. Flights are delayed, motorways are closed, asthma sufferers suffer even more and particle-type fire alarms are set off accidentally.

The dust storm in question is estimated to have cost the state and local business tens of millions of dollars. And while the storm was spectacular, the dust itself caused very little long-term damage. The winds that carried the dust storm, however, caused damage to over 400 trees and 250 roofs.

So will we see one of these dust storms again? It has been forecast that NSW is vulnerable to vast dust storms this spring because of the type of fine dust left behind when floods in the outback dry up.

So in preparation for Santa Claus’ possible early arrival this spring, I advise all parents to stock up on presents now!
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Did you know?
Why is the sun yellow? The temperature of a star dictates its colour. Our sun appears as a yellow star because it has a surface temperature of 6,000°C. It would appear blue if its surface temperature was 40,000°C.

?NOVEMBER STATISTICS

Temperature

?High: 41.8° (1982)
Low: 7.7° (1903)
Average: 19.6°

Rainfall

High: 517.2mm (1961)
Low: 1.9mm (1915)
Average: 83.5mm

Moonphases

?New Moon: 6th November
1st Quarter: 13th November
Full Moon: 21st November
3rd Quarter: 28th November

?Sun

?November 1st rise: 5:54am
November 1st set: 7:22pm
November 30th rise: 5:36am
November 30th set: 7:50pm

All of the information in this article has been provided by www.willyweather.com.au.