A re-examination of the synoptic and mesoscale meteorology of Ash Wednesday 1983

The fires on Ash Wednesday 1983 were some of the most destructive in Australia’s history, with 75 lives lost, more than 2000 houses and 335 000 ha of rural land burnt, and 250 000 stock lost. Bureau of Meteorology (1984) (hereafter BOM84) documents the meteorology of the situation, points to the extreme drought prevailing at the time that led to very dry fuels, and postulates that the mobile upper trough associated with the event may be an ingredient that differentiates a ‘blow-up’ fire day from a merely ‘bad’ fire day. That report did not, however, address the issues of the dynamics of the frontal system that moved through South Australia (SA) and Victoria on 16 February 1983, or address the issue of just how extreme was the meteorology of the event, apart from the issue of drought. An important feature that is Aust. Met. Mag. 54 (2005) 35-55