Melbourne weather LIVE: SES and BoM issue warnings for strong winds likely to cause damage across Victoria

BoM duty forecaster Daniel Hayes has warned that severe winds will persist across Victoria throughout the afternoon and evening, with conditions not expected to significantly settle until Thursday.

Hayes told ABC Radio Melbourne that the worst of the wind will be felt for several more hours.

While the city centre is somewhat sheltered, experiencing gusts of 30 to 40 km/h, the risk is much higher in the outer suburbs and open areas.

“As we head out to some of the outer suburbs and particularly around the airports where we’ve got a bit more space for the wind to move we are seeing those gusts pushing up to 80, even 90 kilometres an hour already this afternoon,” he said.

“There is the potential that we will still see those push up into that damaging range in that 90 to 100 kilometres an hour range around parts of Melbourne through this afternoon before things ease off.”

The system is expected to move through overnight, bringing a much calmer day on Thursday.

“[There’s] still the chance of some shower activity, but generally quite a bit lighter winds around the place,” Hayes said.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) is facing a social media backlash after launching its new website today, coinciding with severe weather warnings across multiple states.

A low-pressure system is currently battering the country’s south-east, bringing storms, extreme winds, and heat. Destructive winds are specifically forecast to cause power outages and bring down trees across parts of South Australia, Victoria, and NSW.

The timing of the launch has frustrated many users attempting to monitor urgent weather warnings. Social media is filled with complaints about the new site’s usability and navigation.

“On a day when most of Australia is told to expect extreme weather, and monitor the forecast and warnings, all our bookmarks are broken! Redirection of links to the new pages is essential in any new implementation!,” one user commented.

BoM duty forecaster Daniel Hayes defended the update, telling ABC Radio Melbourne that the new website was fun, and full of resources.

“Hopefully, it will be something that we all get used to fairly quickly. It will be a reliable service,” he said.

The Geelong Cup will be run on Thursday after stewards abandoned Wednesday’s meeting when strong winds made racing unsafe and forced racegoers to evacuate marquees.

The decision was made after jockeys expressed concern about riding in the conditions following race three.

After further consultation with jockeys and emergency services, the meeting was rescheduled until Thursday, when 10 runners are expected to contest the Cup which, for the first time, gives the winner a golden ticket into the Melbourne Cup.

Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Ciaron Maher said he was likely to return with Gilded Water, the King Charles-owned favourite for the Geelong Cup, to contest the race on Thursday. Stewards said wind gusts up to 76 kilometres per hour were expected to hit the track in between 3pm and 5pm.

Geelong Racing Club chief executive Luke Rayner said there was a sense of disappointment in the air after strong winds forced the postponement.

Speaking to ABC Radio Melbourne, Rayner said despite the race cancellation for the day, patrons were making the best of the situation:

“We’ve still got patrons currently on course, enjoying themselves as best and as much as they possibly can,” he said.

“We obviously have dining rooms that are full to the brink, and they’re still able to enjoy their afternoon.”

Strong winds are causing damage and outages across the state. We want to know what you’re seeing in your local area.

SES State Duty Officer Grant Machell is warning residents that the worst of the severe winds is still to come, despite strong gusts already hitting parts of Melbourne.

Machell told ABC Radio Melbourne that a wind speed of 91 km/h was just recorded in St Kilda, likely serving as a precursor to even higher speeds. Machell said winds in the suburb are forecast to reach up to 100 km/h

Melbourne’s CBD is expected to experience the strongest wind gusts between 4-6pm this afternoon.

With winds already reaching 90 km/h in Geelong, Machell said the decision to postpone the Geelong Cup was the “right call to be made.”

“We just want what’s best for the community,” Machell said. “We want everyone to be safe.”

The Geelong Cup has been postponed due to the strong winds, on advice of emergency services. A decision is yet to be made on whether the race is run tomorrow at a location yet to be determined, or squeeze it in to Friday’s Ballarat meeting.

Thousands of customers across Victoria are currently experiencing unplanned power outages, according to reports from the state’s major electricity providers.

• Powercor, servicing homes in Victoria’s north and west, is reporting the largest number of affected customers, with 3974 homes currently without power due to multiple outages.
• AusNet, which services the state’s north and east, is managing three unplanned outages impacting 1017 customers.
• In metropolitan areas, Jemena reports an unplanned outage affecting 305 customers in Preston and Reservoir.
• Meanwhile, United Energy is dealing with eight unplanned outages, leaving 785 customers without supply.

Victorian Emergency Management commissioner Tim Wiebusch said damaging winds were forecast to reach the state’s east in the afternoon.

“We’re asking Victorians to ensure that they are prepared for power outages,” he said.

“That means be aware of fallen powerlines that may be on the ground but also ensure that you’ve charged your mobile devices.”

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned gusts between 90km/h to 110km/h are expected to be “widespread” and could rise to 120km/h for the southwest Victorian coast, Bellarine and Mornington peninsulas and Bass coast.

Trees or branches were “very likely” to come down in the wild weather, creating hazards on the roads and properties, Geb Abbott from Victoria State Emergency Service said.

She called for motorists to consider alternate routes before hitting the road or if they needed to travel at all.

AAP