Mad weather in Melbourne

It was mad driving home from work today. Massive hail, pockets of snow near the mountains where I was. Had to pull over a coupla' times to ensure a safe journey home. 120kmh winds! Intense does not begin to describe the madness.

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Storms affect peak-hour commute
Mex Cooper, Thomas Hunter
August 25, 2009 - 6:03PM
Source - the Age

Wild weather has caused a number of delays for Melbourne commuters as howling winds and heavy rain sweep across the city.

A fallen tree outside Essendon station has caused delays up to half an hour to both citybound and outbound trains on the Broadmeadows line.

A problem with signalling systems also caused delays in South Kensington earlier this evening, but a Connex spokeswoman said the problem had now been rectified.

Connex had buses and maintenance teams on standby for the extreme weather but services were running "relatively smoothly," the spokeswoman said.

Winds up to 128km/h hit Avalon earlier this afternoon and were due to arrive in the city about 5.20pm.

Bureau of Meterology duty forecaster Geoff Feren said the cold front would see the temperature drop rapidly and damaging winds of about 110km/h sweep through Melbourne.

She said the strongest winds - 117 km/h - had so far been reported at Mount William in the Grampians National Park in the state’s west.
Commuters were advised to leave work early as extreme weather threatened to play havoc with the public transport system.

There was also a warning for potential blackouts.

A Yarra Trams spokeswoman said emergency crews were also ready in case overhead tram lines were damaged this afternoon.

Falling trees pulled down both overhead tram and train lines on Friday, causing delays and cancellations when high-speed winds lashed Melbourne.

Connex and Yarra Trams advised commuters to monitor their websites for updates but said it was up to passengers to decide whether they should leave early.

SES spokesman Scott Hilditch said motorists should also take care as debris could be blown on to roads and traffic lights may malfunction from power outages.

He said up to 700,000 people commuted to the city each day and leaving early would help to minimise possible transport snarls.

Emergency services crews were this afternoon gearing up for damaging winds, possible thunderstorms and power blackouts across the state.

Gale-force winds are expected mid-week, in what is shaping up to be an exceptionally gusty season.

The destructive winds would gust to 120km/h in alpine and other elevated areas, while parts of Melbourne and other southern areas would get wind gusts of 100km/h, Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Peter Blake said.

The bureau said this morning 100 km/h winds would strengthen in the state's west from early afternoon before hitting Melbourne.

"That front is approaching, it may bring a band of rain and will come late afternoon, 4 to 6pm," he said.

"There will be several hours of winds, it will pick up and strengthen during the day and into the evening.

"At least a lot of people will be safely in their houses by then."

A severe weather warning is in place for much of Victoria predicting sustained winds up to 60km/h and locally damaging gusts up to 110km/h in the Wimmera, western and alpine forecast districts and in parts of the north central, northern country, Mallee, central, northeast and Gippsland regions.

But SES spokesman Allan Briggs said people could help lessen the disruption of powerful winds.

"People need to be prepared for a power outage," he said.

"It's good to have a battery operated radio and torch, and if the power goes out they shouldn't try to do any power repairs themselves. Phone the power company, whose number should be on the bill.

"We'd also advise against using candles, unless in an absolute emergency.

"We're also urging people to avoid parking or sheltering under trees, and suggesting they secure loose items, like outdoor furniture, around their house."

Mr Briggs said SES workers had attended about 150 jobs across Victoria in the last 24 hours, helping the public cope with fallen trees and damaged power lines.

Although the strong winds will originate in the state's west, Mr Briggs said metropolitan Melbourne and the state's elevated areas could be the worst-affected areas.