Clapping for the Thunder Claps!

Dramatic results of storm in Robertson!
I took this photograph this morning, about 10:00am, in Robertson. See story below***

Robertson had a heavy thunderstorm last night, just for about 15 minutes. Subsequently it rained steadily for several hours. I was having dinner with some of the locals, and when the first thunder was heard, followed by heavy rain - the farmers in the room broke into a round of applause. Wonderful, but a very "Robertson" thing to do - clapping for the thunder claps!

Anyway, the Bureau of Meteorology says we got 40mm of rain up till 9:00am this morning, which is great. We need more, though.

During the night a huge Pine Tree (Pinus radiata) split in half and a single branch as large as a normal large tree fell across the road. I would estimate the branch to be nearly a metre in diameter, and at least 30 metres tall. And that is less than half the tree. We do big trees in Robbo!This is just part of the branch, lying on the ground. You can see the ferns and lichen on the branch, showing how wet it is in Robertson.

Strangely, the tree did not split during the thunder storm. I drove home past this point last night (after the storm) but while it was still raining, and the road was no blocked. Clearly the tree fell after I went past, and some early riser trimmed the tops of the branches, so cars could squeeze past. I'm glad I was not blocked by it last night. I would not have fancied walking home in the rain, and I do not carry a chain saw in my car (as some Locals do - for good reason).*** Confession time: The top photo is this same image, cropped, rotated, and "cleaned up". I couldn't resist.

After the rain, I woke this morning to a typical Robertson fog. It has hung around all day. This was taken late this afternoon, from the back deck.

Compare it with the normal view, on a clear day. One can see in the very far distance, the far side of the Shoalhaven Valley, 50 Kms away.