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A popular Melbourne carols event has been cancelled for safety reasons, as emergency services responded to calls for more than 450 fallen trees and 60 damaged buildings across Victoria.

Manningham council’s Carols by Candlelight at Ruffey Lake Park has been cancelled for safety reasons, as high winds batter Melbourne.

It comes after Geelong’s Carols by the Bay was cancelled last weekend because of bad weather.

Manningham council posted a notice on Friday informing the public that it had cancelled its popular carols event “due to forecasted high-risk weather conditions (with) unpredictable winds reaching up to 90kms per hour and the possibility of thunderstorms”.

It said the forecast weather presented “a significant risk to our wonderful carols community”, and the “tough decision” to call the event off had been made after consulting with Victoria Police and the State Emergency Service (SES).

Santa will not make an appearance at the Manningham carols tonight, because of the wind.

“We wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season and hope to see you all again next year. Please be aware that, regrettably, we are unable to reschedule this event to a later date,” it said.

Emergency services on Friday were responding to reports of fallen trees across Melbourne’s suburbs, as strong winds battered the state.

Part of the Belgrave train line was suspended at 2.30pm and caused delays across the entire line after a tree fell on the tracks between Bayswater and Upper Ferntree Gully stations.

The tree has been removed and services have resumed.

Just before 1pm on Friday there were reports of fallen trees in suburbs including Mill Park, Alphington, Abbotsford, Thornbury, Brunswick, Heidelberg, Melton, St Kilda, Northcote, Deer Park, Surrey Hills, Craigieburn and Maidstone.

There were 451 calls to the SES for trees down, 60 for building damage and six for flooding, across the state in the 24 hours to before 5.30pm.

VicEmergency on Friday morning warned damaging winds were set to blast northern Melbourne, Gippsland and northern parts of Victoria.

Wind gusts have reached 106km/h at Mt Buller, 104 km/h at Mt William and 93km/h at Melbourne Airport.

A thunderstorm asthma warning has also been issued for the Mallee region and a three-day heatwave warning for the north east of the state.

VicEmergency on Friday morning said severe weather with damaging winds were predicted for much of Gippsland and the Wimmera.

And parts of Victoria were set to swelter, with the mercury tipped to soar above 40 degrees in some places.

A severe, three-day heatwave warning has been issued for parts of Victoria’s north, from Friday December 8.

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In Melbourne, damaging winds were possible in the northern suburbs and it would likely rain in the afternoon and evening, with a thunderstorm also possible, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

And the wet but warm weather was set to hang around in Melbourne over the weekend with a 90 per cent chance of rain on Saturday – with the chance of a thunderstorm – and a 60 per cent chance of rain on Sunday.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Morgan Pumpa on Thursday said the highest temperatures would be felt in the north of the state.

“Parts of Victoria will see the highest temperatures including 45 degrees for a top at Mildura and Swan Hill,” Ms Puma said.

“There is a top of 39 at Echuca and many areas will see a range between the mid to high 30s.”

A total fire ban has been declared for the Wimmera and Mallee regions due to the extreme fire danger conditions.

This means no fires can be lit in the open air.

“Conditions will be extreme with some parts of the Mallee near ‘catastrophic’ tomorrow,” CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan said.

“We’re asking people to follow the strict conditions associated with the Total Fire Ban declaration.

“Understand how the increased fire risk will impact you and ensure your fire plan covers all possible contingencies.”

The temperature will drop dramatically on Saturday as a cool change moves through, but this is also expected to bring severe storms.

“At the moment there is a very high chance of rain and also the chance of thunderstorms for Melbourne with between 3-20mm on the forecast,” Ms Puma said.