Melbourne weather: Expect strong winds, hail and thunder as chaos continues

VICTORIA shivered through a blustery night — but, be warned, the wild weather is not over just yet, you may even get some snow.

VICTORIA shivered through a blustery night — but, be warned, the wild weather is not over just yet.

As the mop-up begins from yesterday’s chaos, Melbourne can expect showers and strong wind to continue this morning, with a maximum temperature of 11C.

Snow, hail and thunder is forecast throughout the state, with a severe weather warning in place for the Mallee, Wimmera, north-central, southwest, central and Gippsland districts.

Another cold front will enter the southwest this morning and then move across the state, bringing very cold and squally winds with it.

Expect widespread showers and localised hail and thunder with winds up to 90km/h.

While the squalls will moderate this afternoon, blizzard conditions will continue in alpine areas.

It’s been a busy night for the State Emergency Service, with 1700 people calling for help after winds of up to 139km/h lashed the state. More than 800 came from Melbourne, which experienced a low of 6C, and almost 550 from Gippsland by 10pm.

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As many as 45,000 homes lost power during the storm’s peak.

This morning, trains were delayed on the Lilydale line due to a power issue and delays of up to 15 minutes are expected as the network catches up.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Andrea Peace told the Herald Sun that temperatures were cold enough for snow to fall, particularly in Ballarat where it was 1C about 6.30am, the Grampians, dipped to -3C this morning, and parts of Melbourne, notably Ferny Creek near the Dandenong Ranges, which was about 2C.

Tasmania was also hit hard yesterday as a strong front moved across the country’s southeast.

A 63-year-old woman died in Launceston after a tree fell in high winds. She was clearing fallen trees and other storm debris at her Trevallyn property when she was struck by another falling tree just after noon.

Melbourne can expect a few early showers and a top of 13C tomorrow, with patchy fog and light frost in the morning.

The sun will return Sunday.

Originally published as Melbourne weather: Expect strong winds, hail and thunder as chaos continues