Posted: 3:00 AM EDT October 24, 2020 | Updated: 6:22 a.m. EDT October 24, 2020
Hours before the 7th start 30 hours, the Gabba in Brisbane – which hosts this year’s final due to the Victoria coronavirus lockdown – was already inundated with torrential rains
If thunder strikes within 10 km of the stadium, play could be stopped thanks to a rule introduced in 2015
Severe thunderstorm warning in place for Queensland, with meteorological office warning of ‘multi-state storm outbreak’
New South Wales, northeast Victoria, parts of South Australia and the northern Northern Territory are also ready to soak up
Richmond Tigers set to face Les and Geelong Cats at Gabba, after teams transfer to COVID-Safe bubble from Queensland
La Gabba is seen at 3 Saturday 30:00 a.m., just four hours before the start of the AFL grand final between the Richmond Tigers and the Geelong Cats
Heavy rain floods the east coast on Saturday, with rain pounding Brisbane – where the AFL grand final is set to start at 7:30 a.m.
Under a rule introduced in 2015, the game could be canceled if thunder strikes within 10km of the match (pictured, the Gabba gets soaked around 330h on Saturday)
Severe thunderstorms will also spread over 1,000 km across New South Wales, covering lands from Broken Hill to Newcastle
Similar heavy rains are likely to affect huge swathes of Queensland as far north as Cooktown, to Brisbane, Melbourne and Tasmania
Under the AFL Extreme Weather Policy, if there are thunderstorms within 10 km of the field, players must take cover indoors and play must be stopped
« Under the lightning rule they can delay the game for up to an hour, » an AFL spokesperson told 7News
The multi-state storm outbreak will target Queensland, New South Wales, northeast Victoria, parts of South Australia and northern Northern Territory
Clouds form over Gabba in Brisbane ahead of AFL Grand Final between Richmond Tigers and Geelong Cats
The game can only resume if there is no lightning within 10 km of the field for 30 minutes
The rule came into effect during the Clash of the Swans and the Giants in 2015, when lightning struck and the game stopped for 25 minutes
But a spokesperson for the Bureau of Meteorology said the match was more likely to go ahead, even in heavy rain
They said there was only a 20% chance that thunderstorms would occur within 10 km of the stadium
The huge storm is spreading across Australia from the southeast coast, heading north throughout the weekend
La Gabba seen on Saturday morning ahead of the AFL grand final There are concerns that the game could be postponed due to severe weather, with rain starting around 3 p.m.
The gloomy weather on Friday night resulted in around 50 calls to State Emergency Services (SES) due to extensive damage
Meteorologist Helen Reid of the Bureau of Meteorology Meteorologst warned it would be a « fairly active day » compared to Friday
‘Overall we would expect around 10 to 15 millimeters in the Sydney area and if there are thunderstorms you could get a lot more than that,’ she said at the Sydney Morning Herald
She said high winds could reach up to 60 km / h in coastal areas and asked residents to stay away from trees and power lines
The office also warned that large hailstones could hit parts of the Riverina district along with flash flooding
Up to 15mm of rain is expected to fall in New South Wales on Saturday, according to the office
A car drives on a flooded road on the barrier road north of Olary in South Australia on October 7 after heavy rains
« This weekend is shaping up to be stormy and rainy for eastern Queensland and New South Wales, including Brisbane and Sydney, » Mr. How
Total precipitation this Sunday will be 30-50mm overall in parts of eastern Australia, but when we see these more intense thunderstorms we could see totals of 100 and even up to 150 mm for some parts’
Western Australia will miss the weather event entirely, with sunny days and temperatures forecast from the late 1920s to early 1930s en route to the weekend
The weather event occurs when stronger equatorial winds, blowing east to west, cool the Pacific Ocean in tropical north Australia
During the last La Niña between 2010 and 2012, the Weather Bureau said Australia experienced one of the ‘wettest two-year spells on record’
The Bureau of Meteorology has officially declared the first La Niña event since 2010-2012, when flooding ravaged Queensland, killing 33 people
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Australian Football League, AFL Grand Final, The Gabba, Geelong Football Club, Brisbane Lions
News from around the world – GB – Thunderstorms hit Australia’s east coast ahead of the big AFL final
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
