Tradie captures 'freaky' moment on Aussie worksite during wild weather
Workers ran 'back to the safety of smoko shacks' after they noticed the ominous scene rolling in.
An Aussie tradie has filmed the incredible moment an eerie, apocalyptic-looking dust storm rolled in over his worksite, sending staff "running" for shelter as thick black clouds barrelled toward them.
Dylan Barlow, 31, was working at the Moomba oil and gas fields, in South Australia's Far North on Sunday when he managed to capture the "insane" and "freaky" weather event unfold. The storm is believed to be a result of ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily, which despite making landfall last week, has seen a number of weather warnings in place as its effects continue to be felt around the country.
Eerie dust storm sends tradies running indoors
Barlow told Yahoo News Australia how he was mid-shift at the Santos plant, about 100 kilometres north of Adelaide, when he saw the intense clouds approach.
"As we were working out in the field, we saw it coming in from afar as it started rolling in, picking up as a dust storm with high winds," he explained. "Shortly followed was a torrential downpour of rain and lightning, and [we] ran back to the safety of our crib rooms and smoko shacks."
The storm is understood to have lasted for about an hour, with heavy rainfall bucketing down and extreme wind gusts lashing the area. But before he retreated indoors with his fellow workers, Barlow took a short yet eye-popping clip of the moment.
Wild weather batters Australia
The wild weather in South Australia comes as residents in other parts of the country continue to face erratic conditions, ranging from heatwaves in some parts to flooding in others. People in outback Queensland are facing isolation as floodwaters cut them off, while Melbourne is sizzling through its hottest day of the year so far – prompting some ingenious ways for locals to beat the heat.
Ex-Tropic Cyclone Kirrily is continuing to drench northern Queensland, despite crossing the coast more than a week ago. Meanwhile, authorities are watching another tropical low which is gaining strength in the Coral Sea. Meanwhile Victoria has been put on bushfire alert as the mercury soars.
West Australia has been suffering through a sweltering heatwave, while in NSW temperatures soared to well above 30 degrees on Monday, with conditions even reaching the low 40s in some parts of the state's west.
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