Adelaide weather: SES responds to 125 calls for help amid damaging winds on Thursday night
The SES responded to more than 100 calls for help as strong winds battered the city overnight, including on Carrington St where a tree was uprooted, damaging a parked car. Hundreds of homes also were left without power.
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The State Emergency Service responded to more than 100 calls for help after damaging winds toppled trees and power lines across Adelaide on Thursday night.
State Duty Officer Ian Bonython said volunteers responded to about 125 jobs, with the vast majority involving fallen branches and trees.
“It certainly has slowed down in the last period since midnight, so the majority of those were during that Thursday night period,” he said.
The damage was widespread across Adelaide, affecting suburbs in all corners of the city.
On Friday morning, winds had uprooted a tree and damaged the side-view mirror of a parked car on Carrington St in the CBD.
Strong winds have uprooted a tree on Carrington Street, damaging a parked car. #10NewsFirst pic.twitter.com/byWGcfHMDd
— Chloe Bouras (@ChloeBouras) September 17, 2020
There were reports of branches falling on a fence at Happy Valley just before 10pm on Thursday, while a tree blocked Sheoak Rd at Belair just before 9.30pm.
Crews also responded to calls for help at Tonsley, Highgate, Torrens Park, Kensington Gardens, Brahma Lodge, Paradise, St Morris, Eastwood, Salisbury, Campbelltown, Rostrevor and other suburbs.
Strong winds caused damage to power lines, causing more than 700 properties to lose power in the foothills and the Golden Grove area on Friday morning.
The weather also forced the closure of a coastal COVID-19 testing station.
Wind gusts exceeding 60km/h were recorded at Sellicks Hill just before 7am on Thursday and just before 12.30am at Noarlunga.
The damage came ahead of partly cloudy conditions forecast on Friday, with a top of 29C.
Duty forecaster Ben Owen said a strong easterly wind will continue throughout the day.
“There is the potential tonight we could see a bit of a burst in the wind as well, particularly about the elevated areas,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide.
“By tomorrow, we will see those winds easing up, particularly in the afternoon as we have a front move through.”
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Between 6mm and 20mm of rain is forecast to fall at Adelaide’s West Terrace station on Saturday, with the possibility of a thunderstorm in the morning and afternoon.
Duty forecaster Jenny Horvat said the heaviest falls were likely to be in the pastoral districts, with 30mm to 50mm – and up to 100mm in some areas – “not out of the question”.
“The exact intensity and location of that low pressure system is going to determine where we see most of that rainfall intensity,” she said.
“There will be shower and rainfall activity as well as thunderstorms.”
Ms Horvat said metropolitan Adelaide and other parts of the state “could expect quite windy conditions”.
“We could also be seeing some severe thunderstorm activity,” she said.
“This will mostly be in the north but we could be seeing some of that bit further south on Saturday.”