At the beginning of February 2005 a low pressure system brought severe storms to eastern Australia. The weather system resulted in record rainfalls to south-east Australia and abnormally low temperatures through much of the eastern half of the country.
New South Wales:
On 2 February, many areas of New South Wales and suburban Sydney experienced hail and heavy rain. Some examples are: Kellyville, hail 5 cm, Blacktown, hail 4 cm, Kings Langley, hail 3 cm, Quakers Hill, hail 3 cm, Greystanes, heavy rain and hail 4 cm, Potts Hill, hail 2-3 cm, Castle Hill, hail 4-5 cm, Greenacre, hail 4-5 cm, St Ives, heavy rain and hail 2 cm, Wahroona, heavy rain and hail 3 cm, Gosford, hail 4 cm and Terrigal hail 4-5 cm. Flash flooding was seen in Bexley (metropolitan Sydney) and in North Ryde.
A thunderstorm and possible tornado caused severe local wind damage, bringing down trees and power lines, resulting in power outages to thousands of homes. The strongest wind gusts during the storm were felt at Bathurst with 93 km per hour, Scone 93 km per hour, Kurnell 94 km per hour and Newcastle 91 km per hour. The unseasonal cold weather brought snow to some areas of New South Wales where approximately 10-15 cm snow fell in the Snowy Mountains and temperatures reached as low as minus 5°C.
On the Brindabella Ranges near Canberra and on the Southern Tablelands, several centimetres of snow settled on the ground. Record low maximum and minimum temperatures occurred over this period, especially in the southern areas of the state.
Victoria:
Substantial rainfall was reported in many areas of Victoria with 24 hour rainfall totals exceeding 150 mm in many places. Rainfall in the Melbourne metropolitan area exceeded 100 mm with an all time 24 hour record for Melbourne set at 120.2 mm (the previous record was 108 mm). The highest wind gusts were recorded at Wilson's Promontory with gusts of up to 148 km per hour. In the Melbourne area wind gusts to 104 km per hour were recorded at Fawkner and Beacon. Extensive damage to buildings was reported and over 7000 requests for assistance were received by the SES and other emergency services over the following days.
Tasmania:
During this storm, Tasmania experienced widespread damage particularly from wind gusts. The strong south easterly winds caused damage from Devonport to Bridport, Scottsdale and Winnaleah in the north-east, Binalong Bay on the East Coast, and to Flinders Island in Bass Strait. Port Sorell (near Devonport) reported many homes to be badly damaged in part due to falling trees. Approximately 25 yachts in the Tamar River broke their moorings, with 14 reportedly destroyed, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars damage. The Bass Strait ferry Spirit of Tasmania l was forced to return to Melbourne after sustaining damage in seas estimated at 20 m. The Spirit of Tasmania II was delayed on its voyage from Devonport to Melbourne, while the Spirit of Tasmania III broke its moorings in Devonport and was also slightly damaged.
Fruit crops sustained up to 50 per cent loss; particularly apple and pear growers. Damage was also sustained to poppy and grain crops. Strong winds battered Tasmania during this storm, some examples are; Mount Wellington 104 km per hour, Mount Read 93 km per hour, Eddystone Point 117 km per hour, Flinders Island Airport 100 km per hour, Launceston Airport 94 km per hour and Cape Bruny on Bruny Island 91 km per hour. On 3 February substantial rainfall accompanied the storm and flooding occurred in several areas on the east coast, some suburbs of Hobart and in the south-east. The Browns River at Kingston broke its banks causing local flooding with several minor landslides also reported in the area.
South Australia:
Gale force winds of up to 67 km per hour occurred at several locations in South Australia during this storm event. These occurred in Marree and briefly at Hindmarsh Island.
The Insurance Council of Australia estimated the 2005 damage for the combined states at $216.7 million, with the estimated 2017 normalised cost of $402 million.