City records wettest day in a year as storms blanket western suburbs
“This marks Melbourne’s wettest day since October 19 last year, when 32 millimeters were recorded at the Melbourne Olympic Park site,” Timke said.
He added that wild weather is part of spring time in Melbourne.
“Spring is the time for this type of weather for Melbourne and Victoria as we start to see more dynamic cold fronts moving through,” Timke said.
“Things are starting to warm up a little bit. There’s more energy in the atmosphere and it’s the best time of year for this kind of weather.”
“Storms reached the far western suburbs between 3.30pm and 4pm and then moved steadily across the Melbourne area for the next hour or two.”
Storms overnight and early morning on Sunday also left some Powercor customers in south-west Victoria without power. Faults were reported in parts of Ballarat, Colac and Horsham, with work throughout the day and into the evening.
The SES received 511 calls statewide between midnight and 9pm; of these, 289 were related to building damage, 100 to downed trees, and 79 to flooding.
Rain fell at Carlton’s Ikon Park on Sunday when lightning caused an AFLW match to be postponed for 40 minutes.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
SES’s busiest suburbs on Sunday were Werribee (115 calls) and Hoppers Crossing (62 calls); almost all of these came after afternoon storms.
The Bureau of Meteorology said Melbourne Olympic Park (37.4 millimeters), Avalon Airport (36.4) and Laverton RAAF (29) recorded the most rain from midnight to 6pm. Mount Buller topped the state with 48 millimeters.
Melbourne is expected to have a cool, slightly wet day on Monday with a shower or two, with a high of 14 degrees and a low of 10 degrees. On Tuesday, temperatures are expected to drop to a low of 6 degrees and a high of 18 degrees ahead of a sunny day.
Early storms in Ballarat resulted in wet and slippery conditions for Sunday’s AFLW match between the Western Bulldogs and Geelong at Mars Stadium.
Cats’ Georgie Prespakis and Bulldogs’ Sarah Poustie compete for the ball during an AFLW match in Ballarat on Sunday.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
“The rain held off by the end but it was like running in a swimming pool,” Geelong’s Amy McDonald told Seven after the game. “It wasn’t the best show but sometimes you have to win dirty.”
In the afternoon match between Carlton and GWS Giants at Carlton Ikon Park, lightning caused play to be delayed for 40 minutes before the match could be completed safely.
