Savage Storms Wreak Havoc in WA’s Kimberley: Hailstones Pound Kununurra, Winds Rip Through Derby
- Extreme weather hits Western Australia’s far north, with hail falling in Kununurra and severe wind gusts causing damage in Derby
- Residents witness “unusual” hailstorm on a 38-degree day, with hailstones hitting lawns and damaging infrastructure
- Locals describe the intense storm as “crazy” and “freakish”, with lightning striking trees and causing power outages
Wild weather has slammed into Western Australia’s far north, bringing with it a rare hailstorm and fierce winds that have left a trail of destruction in its wake.
In the Kimberley town of Kununurra, residents were shocked to see hailstones pounding their lawns on Saturday afternoon, as temperatures soared to 38 degrees.
“It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before,” said Tanya Wilson, who works at a local caravan park. “Our caravan awning and gazebo got absolutely trashed. There was a couple of other awnings in the park that got trashed.”
The storm was accompanied by severe wind gusts of up to 104 kilometres per hour, which caused significant damage throughout the town. “One of the tents got absolutely demolished with the winds unfortunately, so we ended up putting [the guest] in a cabin for the night,” Ms Wilson said.
Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Catherine Schelfhout said while storms are common in the build-up to the wet season, hail reaching the ground in the region is “unusual”. “Hail is unusual in the tropics but it does happen occasionally,” she said.
In Derby, resident Katlyn Yeeda, known online as Derby Jetty Queen, described a separate storm as “crazy” and “freakish”. “It came in a freakish way, it was sounding like it was coming very slowly, the lightning was hitting,” she said. “Next thing you know, the wind, the lightning and the rain, it was crazy, everything was happening at once.”
Ms Yeeda said she had a close call with a lightning strike, while another bolt hit a tree, causing a power outage for about 2 hours. “Lightning struck about 15 or 20 metres away from where my sister and me were watching the rain,” she said. “That was crazy, we just saw the lightning hit this tree and how it lit up, the flashes on the trees, that was an experience.”
As the wet season approaches, the Bureau of Meteorology is warning of more frequent storms. “We expect to see more of this thunderstorm activity increasing over the coming months,” Ms Schelfhout said.