Picture special: Melbourne’s wild weather

FROM searing heat, to flooding rain, to the whitest snow and hailstones the size of a tennis ball, Melbourne has taken every elemental challenge in stride.

WITH weather so varied it even inspired a song, Melbourne is well known for its weird meteorological phenomena.

From searing heat, to flooding rain, to the whitest snow and hailstones the size of a tennis ball, our great city has taken every elemental challenge in stride.

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The weather has always been a part of Melbourne’s identity. Having the ability to somehow fit all four seasons into one day is something that perplexes tourists and gets a chuckle out of most locals.

In tribute to the city’s elemental resilience, we take a look back at some of Melbourne’s weird and wildest weather.

The 1934 Victorian Championship of tennis was interrupted after flooding left only the newly built top level of Kooyong above the water.

Front page of The Sun newspaper on December 1, 1934.

Melburnians flock to the Batman Ave Swimming Pool during the Christmas heatwave of 1949.

Cars are swept down Elizabeth St, during torrential rainfall in Melbourne in 1972.

A punter finishes off his champagne despite the 1976 Melbourne Cup flood.

Melbourne was enveloped by a massive dust storm in 1983 that one witness said: “turned day into night”.

Less than two weeks after the dust storm, smoke from the Ash Wednesday bushfires wafted over the city.

People cool off on a Melbourne beach during a heatwave in 1985. Picture: Supplied

Roger Merrett (left) and Danny Frawley. shield their eyes from strong hail during a 1993 match between the Brisbane Bears and St. Kilda.

Natasha Zvereva takes a splash at a flooded Melbourne Park during the 1995 Australian Open.

Melburnians take advantage of some rare snowfall on the city’s outskirts.

A Olinda Primary School student takes in a quick burst of snow after a hailstorm.

A Southbank visitor makes a hail angel following wild storms.

Hailstones almost as big as tennis balls.

Minutes after Grace and Zeljko Thiara exchanged vows, the couple and their guests fled for safety as a ferocious hailstorm tore Melbourne apart. Picture: Rob Maccoll

Hail stones splatter leaves all over the path in front of Supreme Court in King st.

Wild weather pushed the Yarra River against it's self resulting in flooding around Southbank in 2014. Picture: David Caird

Melbourne’s 2014 heatwave and high winds saw a massive dust storm blanket the city.

High winds and rough seas caused havoc as gigantic waves crash into Mornington Harbour. Picture: Michael Dodge/Getty Images

The view from the Eureka Skydeck as the thunderstorm asthma storm front rolls across Melbourne Picture: Norm Oorloff