Heavy rain, strong winds, storms to sweep across Victoria

GET your umbrella ready — the weather system responsible for once-in-a-half-century rainfall in Central Australia is on its way to Melbourne.

Water is streaming down Uluru after heavy rain. Picture: Jared Strachan

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THE weather system responsible for once-in-a-half-century rainfall in Central Australia — creating a waterfall at Uluru — is on its way to Melbourne.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for parts of Victoria for Wednesday as a low pressure system with heavy rainfall and damaging winds ventures south.

The tropical weather system is expected to hit western Victoria early Wednesday morning.

A storm front passes over Melbourne earlier this year. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Wind gusts reaching 120km/h are forecast in elevated parts of the state.

Large amounts of rainfall — up to 50mm — could fall in very short periods of time.

Flash flooding in some parts of the state could also occur.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Stephen King said Melbourne would not see heavy rainfall like that in the Northern Territory.

“(The weather) is part of the same low pressure system that’s now moving over South Australia,” he said.

“It will move southeast over Adelaide and down past west Victoria in the early hours of tomorrow morning.”

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for the state on Wednesday. Picture: Bureau of Meteorology.

Mr King said rainfall would reach up to 50mm in some parts, but nowhere near the 232mm recorded in Kintore, Northern Territory, in the spaces of a few hours.

“I doubt it will be of that intensity, parts of South Australia may get it,” Mr King said.

“Our computer (system) has been pretty consistent with the weather over South Australia and western Victoria. We wont get the heaviest of rainfalls here.”

Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley urged holiday-makers to be alert of changing weather.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was closed due to heavy rain. Picture: James Holding/Twitter.

“Our warning is for people to stay attuned to what they are doing and making sure they understand it could be fast moving water, flash flooding,” he said.

“If people are camping, there could be associated with this weather a very strong wind.

“For campers, be careful where you are and what you are doing adjacent to rivers and streams.

“Lots of the rivers and dams are reasonably full so it won’t take much rain now to see the rivers fast moving.

“We don’t know where the rain is going to fall, that is the problem.

“To pick out a single place is quite difficult for us.”

Mr King said Melbourne would see another hot and humid night on Tuesday, with the mercury dropping to 25.

A top of 32 is forecast on Wednesday, with a cool change to come for Friday.

The humidity in Melbourne was 80 per cent on Tuesday afternoon — higher than average.

Uluru National Park experienced a once-in-a-half-century weather event in 24 hours on Tuesday, which cut off roads and washed out walking tracks.

A quarter of the community of Kintore was evacuated after it was hit by 232mm of rain on Sunday, which took the December total to a record 373.4mm.

Emergency services also had to rescue a carload of Japanese tourists from flood waters after their car got washed away near Alice Springs.

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