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A dusty welcome to the wet season in Hedland

Mia BurgessNorth West Telegraph
Dust storm approaching the Port Hedland township
Camera IconDust storm approaching the Port Hedland township Credit: Supplied/Tina Scott/Tina Scott

The wet season finally greeted Port Hedland on Saturday evening, as a wild dust and thunderstorm hit the town

The action kicked off at around 7pm as winds picked up and a cloud of thick red dust covered the town, eerily foreshadowing what was to come.

Between 7pm and 7.30, the temperature plummeted 11 degrees as wind gusts picked up and brought with them a lightning show for the ages.

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Wind gusts reaching 100km per hour were recorded at 7.07pm and 7.13pm, as the temperature plummeted 10 degrees , from 32 to 22 degrees in under 20 minutes.

To the delight of many, Port Hedland recorded it’s first rain of 2022, with 13.8ml falling between 7.07 and 7.36pm.

By 11pm the temperature had returned to a balmy 33 degrees with 75% humidity.

Many residents as well as Port Hedland Cemetery Beach playground were left with ripped shade sails and South Hedland and Gratwick Aquatic Centre’s were forced to close on Sunday due to the debris left by the storm.

While there are no current tropical cyclones, and the likelihood of a tropical cyclone in the western region is currently “very low,” in October 2021, the Bureau of Meteorology predicted a 60% chance of an above average number of tropical cyclones in the north west for the 2021/2022 season.

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