SES volunteers have worked through the night after wild storms lashed Melbourne on Wednesday, causing damage to at least 350 homes.
More high winds and heavy rain are forecast for later on Thursday, as another potentially severe thunderstorm rolls through the city.
There were more than 1000 calls for assistance made to the SES after the thunderstorm hit in on Wednesday afternoon, with most of the damage in the eastern and south-eastern suburbs.
There were wind gusts of up to 98 km/h recorded in St Kilda. The city had seven millimetres of rain in 10 minutes.
Scenes from last night’s storm – there is a car under that! Trees completely blocking streets. @9NewsMelb pic.twitter.com/3DFHO4pbJp
— Madeline Slattery (@maddieslattery) January 7, 2015
It was a hot night, with temperatures remaining in the low 20s.
Most of the calls to the SES were for trees blown onto homes and buildings. Two properties in Ringwood and Vermont sustained major damage to their roofs, forcing the occupants to leave.
The roof of St James Primary School in Vermont was ripped off in the storms @3AW693 pic.twitter.com/F7XvtvTugY
— Yvette Gray (@yvettegray3AW) January 7, 2015
SES spokesman Stefan Delatovic said there were 435 calls for assistance in the City of Whitehorse alone. Other hotspots were Knox City and Maroondah.
“As people came home from work to discover damage we kept getting calls, but they were mainly centred in those areas,” he said.
When the roads turn to rivers #melbourneweather pic.twitter.com/xH1FbPSGJK
— Polly Maeve (@PollyMaeve) January 7, 2015
Weatherzone meteorologist Max Gonzalez said a cool change was expected early on Thursday afternoon, but humid conditions would bring the risk of thunderstorms.
“We expect thunderstorms to start firing up from about midday and go through the afternoon and in to the evening,” he said.
The maximum temperature today is expected to be 33 degrees.
Mr Delatovic said residents should start preparing for high winds. Cleaning gutters and tying down outdoor furniture was a good start, he said.
“The initial forecast is for potential thunderstorms tonight and heavy rain over the weekend,” he said.
“With that on the horizon it is a good opportunity to look around your property and get prepared.”
