Australians living in the country’s southeast are on high alert amid a supercell storm that has already brought golf ball-sized hail, flash flooding and massive downpours.
The storm system has already wreaked havoc across central and north-west Victoria, with the state lashed by heavy rain and large hail on Wednesday and Thursday.
Meteorologists have warned that more destructive weather is in store for Friday, with Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart all expected to be battered by heavy rain, thunderstorms and damaging winds.
The Bureau of Meteorology said Aussies in the south-east can expect “another big storm day” on Friday, with Sydney receiving as much as 15mm of rain.
Melbourne is forecast to receive between 10 and 35mm, as is Canberra, while Hobart could see up to 25mm of rain throughout Friday.
There are severe thunderstorms on the horizon for those in the central and north-eastern parts of Victoria.
“Wherever thunderstorms develop there is a risk of flash flooding due to the heavy rainfall,” BOM meteorologist Sarah Scully said.
Australians living in the country’s southeast are on high alert amid a supercell storm that has already brought golf ball-sized hail, flash flooding and massive downpours
A severe weather warning is currently in effect for parts of Victoria’s Central, East Gippsland, North Central, North East, West and South Gippsland regions.
“A deep low-pressure system will cross southern Victoria and Bass Strait on Friday,” the BOM said.
‘Strong winds averaging 50 to 60 km/h with damaging gusts of around 90 km/h are expected around the central and northeastern areas, with the risk extending to Melbourne’s outer northern suburbs from mid-morning to around midday on Friday.’
In NSW, strong wind warnings are in force for the Byron Coast, Coffs Coast, Macquarie Coast, Hunter Coast, Sydney Coast, Illawarra Coast, Batemans Coast and Eden Coast.
Victoria has been hit by heavy rain and heavy hail (photo in Casterton)
Huge hailstones fell in Casterton, south-west Victoria, on Wednesday
The rural town of Casterton, in Victoria’s south-west, near the border with South Australia, was devastated by apocalyptic weather on Wednesday afternoon.
Ms Scully said the wild weather will ease on Saturday morning.
It comes after the rural town of Casterton, in Victoria’s south-west, near the border with South Australia, was devastated by apocalyptic weather on Wednesday afternoon.
The streets remained covered in a thick blanket of large hailstones, while heavy rains caused flash flooding on major roads.
Some businesses had to close temporarily after being flooded, shattering windows, collapsing roofs and leaving cars completely destroyed.
The local emergency service and the national fire brigade received almost a hundred calls for help from the city, which has about 2,000 inhabitants.
Hail bigger than golf balls fell in Casterton on Wednesday
Many homes in Casterton were left with their yards covered in hail
Casterton Golf Club was severely damaged by the supercell storm
Despite the wild weather, Sydney will see a warmer day on Friday with highs of 26 degrees Celsius.
Melbourne is expecting a high of 24 degrees Celsius, while Adelaide will see a sunny day with highs of 20 degrees Celsius.
Hobart will have a high of 18 degrees Celsius on Friday, while a high of 21 degrees Celsius is expected in Canberra.
Brisbane, meanwhile, will experience a warm weekend with temperatures likely to hover around the 20s and 30s.
In Darwin it will be 33 degrees Celsius on Friday and in Perth it will be around twenty degrees at the weekend.
The local state emergency service and the national fire brigade received almost 100 calls for help from the town of about 2,000 inhabitants.