Severe weather warning, flood watch issued for Tasmania as ‘destructive’ wind gusts forecast

Wild weather has led to thousands of homes in the state’s south being left without power.

Damaging winds have been forecast for Tasmania this week and the Bureau of Meteorology has issued a statewide severe weather warning and a flood watch.

More than 3500 homes are without power in southern Tasmania as TasNetworks battles to attend outages across the grid.

Most of these outages impact towns in the Huon Valley and Channel regions.

Some outages are under investigation, others have been caused by downed wires and fallen trees.

TasNetworks’ power outages alerts list states an update will be provided for most outages by 5pm.

Park closures as destructive winds lash the state

Earlier: A severe wind warning has been issued for the whole state as a cold front is expected to bring damaging gusts of 125km to elevated areas and parts of the East Coast today.

Tracks in Freycinet National Park are closed including Mt Freycinet and Graham track, Mt Amos track and Cape Tourville.

Other tracks including the Wineglass Bay Lookout are still open but Parks Tasmania has recommended visitors stay out of all forested areas and areas of high elevation during this time.

This lookout is a short walk from the main Hazards car park and a popular viewpoint. Escape 3 March 2024 News Photo - iStock

A number of parks across Hobart are closed while the state braces for the north-westerly winds, expected to average 60-70km/h with peak gusts of 100km/h in the north and 110km/h for the rest of the state.

McRobies Waste Management Centre will be closed to light vehicles and only trucks with a self-releasing tailgate will be allowed to enter.

St Davids Park, Princes Park and Waterworks Reserve will be closed until it is safe to reopen with the council’s biggest concern falling trees.

On Tuesday morning the Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning, encompassing the whole state for damaging and locally destructive winds.

A BOM spokesman said winds were expected to ease about the southern and eastern areas, with the destructive winds expected to ease tonight behind the cold front.

“However, damaging westerly winds are likely to continue about western and northern coasts during Wednesday,” they said.

The spokesman said locations which may be affected included Devonport, Burnie, Launceston, St Helens, Swansea, Strahan, New Norfolk and Hobart.

The bureau also issued a flood watch for the Tamar, Derwent, Huon, Forth and Mersey rivers, and parts of the North West Coast.

There were 11 outages affecting power supply across the state with wires down at Mountain River, leaving more than 300 customers without power.

Severe weather warning issued for state as ‘destructive’ winds lash the state

August 27, 6:30pm: Tasmanians are being warned to batten down the hatches, with potentially damaging and destructive winds forecast to hit the state from Tuesday morning and to continue throughout the week.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has issued a statewide severe weather warning as wind gusts of about 100 km/h are anticipated across most of the island, while gusts of about 110 km/h are possible in the North.

State Emergency Service (SES) acting assistant director Cheryl Ames said the severe weather was forecast to develop early on Tuesday and would potentially persist over the course of this week.

Potentially damaging and destructive winds are forecast for Tasmania this week. Picture: Jonathan Ng

She said there was a possibility of “locally destructive” winds.

“From Tuesday morning wind gusts are likely to reach around 125 km/h in elevated terrain and parts of the East Coast between Swansea and Orford, before easing later in the evening,” Ms Ames said.

“Although winds may ease at times, we encourage the community to remain vigilant, as the wind and developing rain conditions will likely continue throughout this week.”

The SES has advised Tasmanians that the combination of high soil moisture and damaging and destructive wind speeds increased the likelihood of trees being brought down in the weather.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a statewide severe weather warning.

“We will be monitoring the rain levels, with the possibility of widespread minor flooding due to catchments across Tasmania being relatively wet due to recent rainfall,” Ms Ames said.

In addition to a severe weather warning, the BoM has also issued a flood watch for the Tamar, Derwent, Huon, Forth, and Mersey rivers, as well as parts of the North-West Coast.

“As always, our dedicated SES volunteer crews will be available to support the community if and where needed, however, we’re urging all Tasmanians to monitor the conditions and prepare appropriately,” Ms Ames said.

Originally published as Severe weather warning, flood watch issued for Tasmania as ‘destructive’ wind gusts forecast