Many around the Hilltops region, 100km or so south of Parkes, were shocked when the NSW Rural Fire Service posted photos and videos of a confirmed tornado near Young on Wednesday. However it's not the first time tornadoes have been sighted in the area. Around six years ago there were three funnel clouds spotted north east of Young during a particularly stormy spring, that were later confirmed to be tornadoes as they had touched down, causing damage to the area between Young and Monteagle. The tornado on Wednesday was spotted by the NSW Rural Fire Service tower near Tubbul and though it didn't last long it has caused damage to trees and powerlines with no power in the area. It's not expected to be restored until about 4pm on Thursday according to Essential Energy. Young, Grenfell and Cowra were placed on a tornado watch following the phenomenon with a reported sighting near Cowra and another confirmed sighting of a tornado at Caragabal between 3.30pm and 4pm that caused damage to trees. The footage of the Caragabal tornado was captured on camera by Neil Davies as he drove near it. Three supercell storms appeared on radars on Wednesday afternoon following a severe weather warning from the Bureau of Meteorology. Supercell storms are able to produce twisters due to the wind formation. Tornados form when warm and humid air meets with cold and dry air with the denser cold air pushing over the warm air to produce a thunderstorm. As this happens the warm air rises through the cold air and causes an updraft which begins to rotate if winds vary sharply in speed or direction. When this happens a mesocycle is created that draws in more warm air from the thunderstorm and increases the speed while the cool air fed by the jest stream created by a strong band of wind in the atmosphere creates even more energy. The funnel cloud is created by the water droplets and moisture in the mesocyclone's air, the funnel continues to grow and descend from the cloud and only becomes a tornado once it touches the ground, before then it is only considered to be a funnel cloud. According to local meteorologists the conditions need to be 'just right' for a tornado or funnel cloud to form in the Young area, especially given the hilly region. "Tornadoes are relatively rare events but they can happen with almost any severe thunderstorm," a Bureau of Meteorology spokesperson said. "Of the 10-20 annual sightings in Australia, most are first seen and reported by members of the public." Wednesday's tornado is considered by the Bureau to be a 'weak tornado' due to its size and longevity. "Weak tornadoes are most likely during mid-summer thunderstorms but may also accompany the passage of intense cold fronts during the winter months," the spokesperson said. "They are mostly brief events and cause only limited damage." Stronger tornadoes typically occur in late spring and early summer and are usually bigger in size, strength and last longer. While there was no severe weather in Parkes, there was a good downpour over the course of Wednesday and into early Thursday with a total of 25.4mm falling. Winds picked up a bit on Wednesday afternoon with the Bureau recording speeds peaking at 80km/h at 3.46pm.
