On easterly changes over elevated terrain in Australia’s southeast

Important components of fire weather forecasting are the timing of wind changes due to the changes in fire behaviour that can occur with an abrupt wind direction change (Cheney et al. 2001), and variations in the low-level humidity due to its effect on fine-fuel moisture content. Mills (2005a) described aspects of the very strong easterly change that reached Canberra (Fig. 1 shows the topography of the area, and locations referred to in the text) on the early evening of 18 January 2003, noting its cold-frontal character (although reversed from the normal west-to-east movement of cool changes in southernAustralia), and Aust. Met. Mag. 56 (2007) 177-190