Emergency authorities are warning that severe thunderstorms that will cross much of the state on Sunday could bring hailstones large enough to break windows and damaging wind gusts.
Thunderstorms are expected across central Victoria and the northern suburbs of Melbourne from mid-afternoon Sunday before the weather front reaches the city in the early evening.
A view of wild winter weather rolling into Melbourne earlier this year.Credit: Paul Jeffers
On Sunday morning, the temperature reached an unseasonably warm 23 degrees in places like Avalon.
Melbourne’s north could experience damaging wind gusts of up to 90km/h, with a small risk of destructive winds measuring 125km/h accompanying the cold front. Between two and 10 millimetres of rain is forecast for Melbourne.
Victoria’s alpine regions will be on high alert, as the Bureau of Meteorology predicts gusts of around 90 km/h on Sunday evening across the villages of Mount Hotham, Mount Buller and Falls Creek.
The bureau’s senior meteorologist Bri Macpherson said large hail could occur across Victoria, with a slight chance of giant hail wider than 4 centimetres in the state’s north.
“We could see the thunderstorms developing ahead of the front that’s coming through, generally mid-afternoon would be when we’re expecting them,” she said.
“We’ve got fairly warm conditions for this time of year … we’ve got that warm, moist air over us at the moment, and then this cold front comes along and kind of gives it a kick, lifts it up and helps generate those thunderstorms.
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