1947 Sydney hailstorm
Encyclopedia
The 1947 Sydney hailstorm was a natural disaster which struck Sydney
, Australia
, on 1 January 1947. The storm cell
developed on the morning of New Year's Day, a public holiday in Australia, over the Blue Mountains, hitting the city and dissipating east of Bondi
in the mid-afternoon. At the time, it was the most severe to strike the city since recorded observations began in 1792.
The high humidity, temperatures and weather patterns of Sydney increased the strength of the storm. The cost of damages from the storm were, at the time, approximately GB£
750,000 (US$
3 million); this is the equivalent of around A$
45 million in modern figures. The supercell
dropped hailstones larger than 8 centimetres (3.1 in) in diameter, with the most significant damage occurring in the central business district
and eastern suburbs
of Sydney.
The event caused around 1000 injuries, with between 200 and 350 people requiring hospitalisation or other medical attention, predominantly caused by broken glass shards. The majority of severe injuries reported were suffered by people on Sydney's beaches, where many were without shelter. The size of the hailstones were the largest seen in Sydney for 52 years, until the 1999 Sydney hailstorm
caused A$1.7 billion in insured damage in becoming the costliest natural disaster in Australian history.
During the spring and summer, conditions along the east coast of Australia
are highly conducive for the formation of hailstorms. The variation of air temperature in the atmosphere; with warm and humid air close to the ground and colder air above it causes instability, and the cold upper atmosphere temperatures allow the precipitation to fall in solid form as hailstones. Since records began in 1791, hailstorms in the month of January form approximately 13% of the total number of hailstorms in the Sydney metropolitan area, and over 15% of all events with 'large hail'.
Hailstorms have a history of significant damage in Australia. Since records on insured losses began in 1967, four hailstorms—Sydney in 1986, 1990 and 1999
, as well as Brisbane in 1985—have featured on the top ten list of most insured damages caused by a single Australian natural disaster. Hailstorms caused more than 30% of all insured damages inflicted as a result of natural disasters in Australia during this period, and around three quarters of all hailstorm damage has occurred in New South Wales
.
The conditions on New Year's Day, 1947 were meteorologically
sound for the formation of a storm. The day was hot and humid, with the maximum temperature recorded during the day being 32.7 °C (90.9 °F) and humidity
reaching 73%. Many Sydneysiders travelled to the beach
es along the coastline to benefit from the afternoon sea breeze. The general weather pattern for Sydney in summer is movement from the west to the east—from over the Blue Mountains to across the city and into the Tasman Sea
.
Developing from the Blue Mountains to the south-west of Sydney in the morning of 1 January 1947, the storm cell was first identified at 10:00 am by weather observers at Mascot
. The formation of storms in this region is not unusual, especially given the hot and humid conditions at ground level which causes atmospheric instability. However, the Bureau of Meteorology
reported that the formation of the storm was different to most others, describing how "the underpart of the cloud
was mottle
d and serrated or curtain
ed, rather than mammilated, and looked angry black, while false cirrus tufts
were discernible at the top".
The storm cell dropped hailstones the size of billiard balls across the south-western suburbs of Sydney. It moved directly over Liverpool
at 2:25 pm, heading in a north-east direction before slowly bending its path and travelling almost due east as it passed over the southern part of the central business district. "Large explosion-like sounds", presumed to be thunder by the Bureau, were heard around the Sydney Harbour Bridge
. The sounds were described by the Bureau—who were based at Observatory Hill
, next to the southwest pylon of the Bridge in 1947—as a "terrific noise" akin to "several trains ... passing over[the Bridge] ".
The storm intensified as it cut through the suburbs, and eventually unleashed its full power across the eastern suburbs of Sydney. The suburbs most seriously affected were Surry Hills
, south of the central district, as well as Bondi
and Rose Bay
in the Waverley
region which were struck at around 2:40 pm. The hailstorm pelted beach-goers, particularly at Bondi Beach, and the situation was described by a Second World War veteran
as "though [he] was back in the firing line overseas". The hail in the coastal regions was described as being of similar size to a cricket ball
.
The most damage was caused when the storm was its most intense, over the eastern suburbs
of the city. According to the Bureau of Meteorology
, over 5000 roofs were damaged in Waverley
by the lumps of hail which weighed up to 1.8 kg (4 lb). No official cost total exists for the amount of damage caused by the 1947 hailstorm, however a Reuters
article published in New York Times on 2 January estimated preliminary damage to be worth around US$3 million, equivalent to GB£750,000. This is approximately equal to A$45 million in modern figures, placing it well below the costliest natural disasters in Australian history; this, given the severity of the storm cell, is attributable mainly to the relative inexpensiveness of buildings and other items of the era. More definite historical accounts exist for damage caused to certain buildings. The historic skylight which runs through the centre of the main Central railway station
building was smashed, and the shards reportedly fell in sizes up to 26 cm² (4 sq in) on around 100 waiting passengers.
Convertible cars, in fashion at the time of the storm, also sustained severe damage, mainly punctures to the soft-top roofs, and trams
that ran through the eastern suburbs at the time also suffered damage. According to veteran meteorologist Richard Whitaker
, "Sydney was staggered by the enormity of the incident, as there had not been even a remotely similar storm in living memory". The problems were exacerbated due to a lack of building materials available for use in repair work, a result of the Second World War which had concluded only 18 months prior. This contributed to the delays which resulted in houses still covered with only temporary tarpaulin
s several years later.
Most of the approximately 1000 injuries were caused by the hailstones directly striking people or from flying debris, with the latter mainly from shattered windows. Of these, between 200 and 350 people required hospital
isation or other medical attention, however figures vary between different sources. The storm struck during the afternoon of a public holiday
—New Year's Day
—which produced hot and humid conditions, and the beach
es in the eastern suburbs were significantly populated. The beach-goers were exposed to the large hail when the storm cell reached the coastline, and according to the front page report in The Sydney Morning Herald
the following day, "[f]or nearly three hours, ambulance
wagons travelled from the eastern suburbs beaches with the injured". The 8 cm (3.1 in) hailstones which fell during the 1947 event were not matched in Sydney for 52 years, until the 1999 hailstorm
, which caused A$1.7 billion in insured
damage—the costliest natural disaster
in Australian history.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, on 1 January 1947. The storm cell
Storm cell
A storm cell is an air mass that contains up and down drafts in convective loops, moves and reacts as a single entity, and functions as the smallest unit of a storm-producing system....
developed on the morning of New Year's Day, a public holiday in Australia, over the Blue Mountains, hitting the city and dissipating east of Bondi
Bondi, New South Wales
Bondi is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bondi is located seven kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council. The postcode is 2026.-Location:...
in the mid-afternoon. At the time, it was the most severe to strike the city since recorded observations began in 1792.
The high humidity, temperatures and weather patterns of Sydney increased the strength of the storm. The cost of damages from the storm were, at the time, approximately GB£
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
750,000 (US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
3 million); this is the equivalent of around A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
45 million in modern figures. The supercell
Supercell
A supercell is a thunderstorm that is characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, continuously-rotating updraft. For this reason, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms...
dropped hailstones larger than 8 centimetres (3.1 in) in diameter, with the most significant damage occurring in the central business district
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district is the main commercial centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It extends southwards for about 3 kilometres from Sydney Cove, the point of first European settlement. Its north–south axis runs from Circular Quay in the north to Central railway station in...
and eastern suburbs
Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)
The Eastern Suburbs is a general term used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the east and south-east of the Sydney central business district in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Eastern Suburbs can refer to the suburbs within the local government areas of Woollahra, Waverley, Dover...
of Sydney.
The event caused around 1000 injuries, with between 200 and 350 people requiring hospitalisation or other medical attention, predominantly caused by broken glass shards. The majority of severe injuries reported were suffered by people on Sydney's beaches, where many were without shelter. The size of the hailstones were the largest seen in Sydney for 52 years, until the 1999 Sydney hailstorm
1999 Sydney hailstorm
The 1999 Sydney hailstorm was the costliest natural disaster in Australian insurance history, causing extensive damage along the east coast of New South Wales...
caused A$1.7 billion in insured damage in becoming the costliest natural disaster in Australian history.
Conditions and climatology
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
are highly conducive for the formation of hailstorms. The variation of air temperature in the atmosphere; with warm and humid air close to the ground and colder air above it causes instability, and the cold upper atmosphere temperatures allow the precipitation to fall in solid form as hailstones. Since records began in 1791, hailstorms in the month of January form approximately 13% of the total number of hailstorms in the Sydney metropolitan area, and over 15% of all events with 'large hail'.
Hailstorms have a history of significant damage in Australia. Since records on insured losses began in 1967, four hailstorms—Sydney in 1986, 1990 and 1999
1999 Sydney hailstorm
The 1999 Sydney hailstorm was the costliest natural disaster in Australian insurance history, causing extensive damage along the east coast of New South Wales...
, as well as Brisbane in 1985—have featured on the top ten list of most insured damages caused by a single Australian natural disaster. Hailstorms caused more than 30% of all insured damages inflicted as a result of natural disasters in Australia during this period, and around three quarters of all hailstorm damage has occurred in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
.
The conditions on New Year's Day, 1947 were meteorologically
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
sound for the formation of a storm. The day was hot and humid, with the maximum temperature recorded during the day being 32.7 °C (90.9 °F) and humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
reaching 73%. Many Sydneysiders travelled to the beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es along the coastline to benefit from the afternoon sea breeze. The general weather pattern for Sydney in summer is movement from the west to the east—from over the Blue Mountains to across the city and into the Tasman Sea
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...
.
Progression of the storm
Mascot, New South Wales
Mascot is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mascot is located 7 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the City of Botany Bay...
. The formation of storms in this region is not unusual, especially given the hot and humid conditions at ground level which causes atmospheric instability. However, the Bureau of Meteorology
Bureau of Meteorology
The Bureau of Meteorology is an Executive Agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together the state meteorological services that existed before then...
reported that the formation of the storm was different to most others, describing how "the underpart of the cloud
Cloud
A cloud is a visible mass of liquid droplets or frozen crystals made of water and/or various chemicals suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of a planetary body. They are also known as aerosols. Clouds in Earth's atmosphere are studied in the cloud physics branch of meteorology...
was mottle
Mottle
Mottle or mottling is the appearance of uneven spots. It is commonly used to describe plants or the skin of animals. In plants, mottling usually consists of yellowish spots on plants, and is usually a sign of disease or malnutrition...
d and serrated or curtain
Curtain
A curtain is a piece of cloth intended to block or obscure light, or drafts, or water in the case of a shower curtain. Curtains hung over a doorway are known as portières...
ed, rather than mammilated, and looked angry black, while false cirrus tufts
Cirrus cloud
Cirrus clouds are atmospheric clouds generally characterized by thin, wispy strands, giving them their name from the Latin word cirrus meaning a ringlet or curling lock of hair...
were discernible at the top".
The storm cell dropped hailstones the size of billiard balls across the south-western suburbs of Sydney. It moved directly over Liverpool
Liverpool, New South Wales
Liverpool is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Liverpool is located 32 km south-west of the Sydney central business district, and is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Liverpool...
at 2:25 pm, heading in a north-east direction before slowly bending its path and travelling almost due east as it passed over the southern part of the central business district. "Large explosion-like sounds", presumed to be thunder by the Bureau, were heard around the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic...
. The sounds were described by the Bureau—who were based at Observatory Hill
Sydney Observatory
Sydney Observatory is located on a hill now known as 'Observatory Hill' in an area in the centre of Sydney. The site evolved from a fort built on 'Windmill Hill' in the early 19th century to an astronomical observatory during the nineteenth century...
, next to the southwest pylon of the Bridge in 1947—as a "terrific noise" akin to "several trains ... passing over
The storm intensified as it cut through the suburbs, and eventually unleashed its full power across the eastern suburbs of Sydney. The suburbs most seriously affected were Surry Hills
Surry Hills, New South Wales
Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is located immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
, south of the central district, as well as Bondi
Bondi, New South Wales
Bondi is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bondi is located seven kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council. The postcode is 2026.-Location:...
and Rose Bay
Rose Bay, New South Wales
Rose Bay is a harbourside, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rose Bay is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Waverley Municipal Council and Woollahra Council .Rose Bay has views of both the Sydney...
in the Waverley
Waverley, New South Wales
Waverley is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Waverley is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council....
region which were struck at around 2:40 pm. The hailstorm pelted beach-goers, particularly at Bondi Beach, and the situation was described by a Second World War veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
as "though [he] was back in the firing line overseas". The hail in the coastal regions was described as being of similar size to a cricket ball
Cricket ball
A cricket ball is a hard, solid leather ball used to play cricket. Constructed of cork and leather, a cricket ball is heavily regulated by cricket law at first class level...
.
Aftermath
Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)
The Eastern Suburbs is a general term used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the east and south-east of the Sydney central business district in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Eastern Suburbs can refer to the suburbs within the local government areas of Woollahra, Waverley, Dover...
of the city. According to the Bureau of Meteorology
Bureau of Meteorology
The Bureau of Meteorology is an Executive Agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together the state meteorological services that existed before then...
, over 5000 roofs were damaged in Waverley
Waverley, New South Wales
Waverley is an eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Waverley is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council....
by the lumps of hail which weighed up to 1.8 kg (4 lb). No official cost total exists for the amount of damage caused by the 1947 hailstorm, however a Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
article published in New York Times on 2 January estimated preliminary damage to be worth around US$3 million, equivalent to GB£750,000. This is approximately equal to A$45 million in modern figures, placing it well below the costliest natural disasters in Australian history; this, given the severity of the storm cell, is attributable mainly to the relative inexpensiveness of buildings and other items of the era. More definite historical accounts exist for damage caused to certain buildings. The historic skylight which runs through the centre of the main Central railway station
Central railway station, Sydney
Central Railway Station, the largest railway station in Australia, is at the southern end of the Sydney CBD. It services almost all the lines on the CityRail network, and is the major terminus for interurban and interstate rail services...
building was smashed, and the shards reportedly fell in sizes up to 26 cm² (4 sq in) on around 100 waiting passengers.
Convertible cars, in fashion at the time of the storm, also sustained severe damage, mainly punctures to the soft-top roofs, and trams
Trams in Sydney
The Sydney tramway network once served Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, Australia. In its heyday, it was the largest in Australia, the second largest in the Commonwealth , and one of the largest in the world. It was extremely intensively worked, with about 1,600 cars in service at any...
that ran through the eastern suburbs at the time also suffered damage. According to veteran meteorologist Richard Whitaker
Richard Whitaker
Richard Northcroft "Dick" Whitaker is an Australian meteorologist and author. Whitaker is also a Meteorologist on The Weather Channel , following his esteemed thirty-year career as a meteorologist with the Bureau of Meteorology....
, "Sydney was staggered by the enormity of the incident, as there had not been even a remotely similar storm in living memory". The problems were exacerbated due to a lack of building materials available for use in repair work, a result of the Second World War which had concluded only 18 months prior. This contributed to the delays which resulted in houses still covered with only temporary tarpaulin
Tarpaulin
A tarpaulin, colloquially tarp, is a large sheet of strong, flexible, water-resistant or waterproof material, often cloth such as canvas or polyester coated with urethane, or made of plastics such as polyethylene. In some places such as Australia, and in military slang, a tarp may be known as a...
s several years later.
Most of the approximately 1000 injuries were caused by the hailstones directly striking people or from flying debris, with the latter mainly from shattered windows. Of these, between 200 and 350 people required hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
isation or other medical attention, however figures vary between different sources. The storm struck during the afternoon of a public holiday
Public holiday
A public holiday, national holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year....
—New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
—which produced hot and humid conditions, and the beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es in the eastern suburbs were significantly populated. The beach-goers were exposed to the large hail when the storm cell reached the coastline, and according to the front page report in The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
the following day, "[f]or nearly three hours, ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
wagons travelled from the eastern suburbs beaches with the injured". The 8 cm (3.1 in) hailstones which fell during the 1947 event were not matched in Sydney for 52 years, until the 1999 hailstorm
1999 Sydney hailstorm
The 1999 Sydney hailstorm was the costliest natural disaster in Australian insurance history, causing extensive damage along the east coast of New South Wales...
, which caused A$1.7 billion in insured
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
damage—the costliest natural disaster
Natural disaster
A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...
in Australian history.