Severe thunderstorms are likely across
Melbourne and much of Victoria this afternoon and evening, possible
across broader parts of the south-east and we can see just how extensive
that storm risk is, looking at today's thunderstorm outlook map, which shows
that storms are possible, if not likely, throughout Victoria,
south-east South Australia and much of inland
New South Wales although, it's important to note
that at this stage storms aren't expected to push east of the ranges towards
Sydney and the east coast. Storms are also possible
across western Tasmania, although not anticipated
to become severe in those parts. Now, the severe thunderstorms
marked on this map in yellow and red are possible through much of south-east South Australia, Victoria and
southern New South Wales, impacting several of our major population centres,
including Adelaide and Melbourne. In those severe thunderstorm areas
we may see damaging wind gusts tearing through
with any storms that develop. Large hail and heavy rainfall are also
possible, but less likely than the winds, which are our key focus
with any storms today. Now, winds of that strength may bring down
trees or tree limbs, potentially damaging power lines or property,
and leading to possible power outages. We're also likely to see dangerous
driving conditions develop through the course of today
as storms throw debris across the roads
and create dangerous crosswinds. Let's take a focused look at where those storms
are most likely now. Our severe thunderstorm
likely area extends from the southern Riverina of New South
Wales, down through central Victoria and across the greater Melbourne area,
including Geelong and West Gippsland. We are expecting to see
severe thunderstorms in these areas this afternoon and evening. Damaging winds are likely, possibly
reaching destructive force at times. Very strong, incredibly dangerous winds
associated with storms developing today. So, where are any storms at the moment? Well, looking at our radar,
we can see some shower and storm activity through inland New South Wales, but it's not severe and coming
from fairly high up in the atmosphere. We're more focused on this activity
through south-west Victoria and parts of south-east
South Australia at the moment, that's coming in ahead of
an approaching cold front. It's this activity, further down,
that we are expecting to ramp up through the course of this afternoon
as that front moves through. It's currently sitting close to
Adelaide and is expected to move across in the next few hours. The peak storm risk will push through
Adelaide and south-east South Australia over the next few hours,
with that risk of damaging winds following with any showers
and storms behind the front as well. The front will move into western Victoria
early to mid afternoon today, increasing that storm risk for areas
like Bendigo and Ballarat. The front is likely to reach
the central districts of Victoria and the Melbourne area
late this afternoon and evening, which is really when that storm risk
is going to peak for Melbourne as well. That is when we're most likely
to see those damaging to locally destructive wind gusts
with thunderstorms moving through. The storm risk will ease
through this evening as the cold front moves east. We're likely to see some showers and
isolated storms in the wake of the system, but the risk of severe weather
will be easing back. By tomorrow, we're really
left with much patchier showers across south-eastern Australia
and a very low risk of any storms at all. So really, the focus for thunderstorm
activity is today, particularly through Victoria
and around the Melbourne area. It's essential to keep an eye on the radar
through the course of this afternoon as well as the Bureau's
website and social media for any warning and forecast updates. Stay safe and we'll catch you next time.