Golf ball-sized hail batters Mildura
Hailstones have battered western Victoria and left more than a thousand properties without power.
The cold front was expected to reach Melbourne on Monday night, but the weather bureau forecast thunderstorm activity would ease by the time it reached the city.
An icy blast of weather brought golf-ball sized hail stones to Mildura.Credit:Twitter
Hail of up to 5 centimetres in diameter was reported in Mildura about 4pm, the bureau said.
A severe weather warning remains in place for western parts of the state, with residents of Swan Hill, Horsham, Stawell and Ararat being alerted to the possibility of large hailstones, damaging wind and heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding.
“To have this intense thunderstorm act activity with up to five-centimetre, golf ball-size hail in late August is unusual,” the bureau’s Dean Narramore told Nine News.
There were wind gusts of up to 100km/h at Horsham and small hailstones and flash flooding were observed at Portland, he said.
About 1100 properties had lost electricity because of the storm as of 5.30pm, according to a PowerCor and CitiPower spokesman.
One of the worst hit areas was Kororoit in the southwest where 650 properties were without power, but the electricity was expected to be restored by 7pm.
A screenshot of a map showing over 1000 unplanned power outages in western Victoria on Monday afternoon.Credit:Citipower/Powercor
State Emergency Service crews also responded to more than 60 calls for help across Portland, Horsham and Mildura.
The SES was advising people to pull over if driving conditions became dangerous and to stay away from floodwater.
Our Breaking News Alert will notify you of significant breaking news when it happens. Get it here.
Most Viewed in National
From our partners
Source: Read Full Article