World News – AU – The thunderstorm threat is easing in Melbourne, but more rain is expected

A severe thunderstorm warning for the northwest suburbs of Melbourne has been canceled, but heavy rain is expected to continue.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning shortly after 6 p.m. on Sunday evening, indicating that severe thunderstorms were detected on weather radar in the area west of Daylesford and east of Ballarat and were moving towards outer Melbourne.

« While thunderstorms are still occurring in the eastern parts of Melbourne, the imminent threat of severe thunderstorms has passed and the warning has been lifted, » the warning said.

Richard Russell, senior forecaster for the Bureau of Meteorology, however, said Melburnians are likely to see more rain in the next few hours before a drizzle hits Monday morning.

« The majority of Melbourne will rain with occasional thunder. Most of the Melbourne area will be cleared over the next two hours [from 7pm], but it will still rain again in the early hours of Monday morning and lightning may also occur, « he said.

« It should have been drizzling by the time most people get up, and there won’t be much of it by late morning. « 

Then there will be a « roller coaster ride of temperatures » next week, but it will mostly remain dry.

Ballarat finished a soak on Sunday and picked up 26. 4 millimeters of rain. Most of it – 22 millimeters – dropped to 5 in the half hour. 45 o’clock. The average November rainfall for Ballarat is 55 millimeters.

The weather station at Bullengarook near Bacchus Marsh recorded 19 millimeters of rain in about an hour on Sunday.

Hundreds of homes across Victoria were without power. Over 700 Powercor customers – including 320 in Anakie and 150 in Balliang north of Geelong – had lightning-related failures on Sunday evening.

A dozen AusNet customers in Rosedale in Gippsland were also without power due to the storm.

There have also been widespread unplanned outages in Melbourne’s northwestern suburbs, including Essendon, Keilor East, Airport West, Tullamarine, Westmeadows and Attwood. Electricity company Jemena said the cause of these outages was being investigated.

On Sunday evening, the state rescue service advised those affected to check that loose objects are secured outdoors and that the vehicles are under cover or away from trees.

They also advised residents to stay inside and away from windows and avoid travel whenever possible.

In the Melbourne area, the SES was on 36 missions in the six hours until 8:00 p.m., with the Melton and Craigieburn units being the busiest. Of the 36 requests for assistance, 19 concerned building damage, ten floods and six trees.

In parts of the districts of Central, Mallee, South West and North Central, there is also a severe thunderstorm warning that warns of noxious winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall.

The thunderstorms are caused by a wide trough sitting directly across from Victoria that creates a warm and unstable mass of air, Russell said.

The strongest gusts of wind on Sunday were 89 km / h in Yarrawonga 1. 6 p.m., 87 km / h in Rutherglen 1. 44 a.m. and 78 km / h at Albury Airport at 2 a.m.. 22 O `clock.

Casterton recorded 10 millimeters of rain in 9 minutes around 3 p.m. and Hamilton 9. 4 millimeters in 6 minutes around 4 p.m..

Simone is a crime reporter for The Age. Most recently she reported on breaking news for The Age and before that for The Australian in Melbourne.

Thunderstorms, Severe Thunderstorm Warning, Melbourne, Bureau of Meteorology