Hundreds without power as wild winds smash southern Australia

Hundreds remain in the dark on Wednesday as damaging winds rip through parts of the country, with more wild weather expected to come.

Hundreds remain without power in South Australia as wild winds smash the state, downing trees and damaging homes, as emergency services warned the worst may not be over.

More than 370 households in the Riverland area are without power.

It is affecting residents in Boolgun, Good Hope Landing, Holder, Holder Siding, Kanni, Lowbank, Maggea, New Well, Notts Well, Pooginook, Stockyard Plain, Taylorville, Waikerie, Woolpunda.

Hundreds of residents in the Streaky Bay area are also affected by power outages, with 319 households in the dark as crews work to restore power.

A SA Power Networks spokesman told NewsWire crews were working to determine the cause of the power outages.

NSW is bracing for wild and damaging winds. Picture: BOM

A severe weather warning is in place for SA as well. Picture: BOM

Authorities are urging people to avoid unnecessary travel with another burst of damaging winds expected on Wednesday.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning to residents through Mount Lofty and the Flinders Ranges, with blistering winds reaching speeds of 90km/h expected in Ceduna, Nullarbor, Elliston, Victor Harbor, Burra and Peterborough.

“Winds throughout are expected to ease from the west during the evening,” BOM said in a statement.

Wind speeds are forecast to reach 100km/h in some areas. Picture: Windy.

A severe weather warning has also been issued for areas of NSW including Illawarra and parts of the Hunter, South Coast, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes, Snowy Mountains, Australian Capital Territory and Metropolitan Forecast Districts.

South-westerly wind speeds are forecast to reach in excess of 100km/h in these areas, which are likely to develop on Thursday morning and continue into the evening.

“During Thursday, the front will move offshore and strong winds will shift west to south-westerly in the wake of the system, with the potential for damaging winds to extend to additional eastern parts of the state,” BOM said.

Conditions are expected to ease on Friday morning.

Damaging winds have brought down trees in South Australia. Picture: SA POLICE

On Tuesday, gusts of up to 102 km/h at Cape Willoughby were reported amid warnings that a second cold front arriving Wednesday morning could bring further destructive winds, particularly to the West Coast and Flinders Ranges.

Emergency services were called to an incident on Warren Road near Williamstown just before 11.30am on Tuesday, where a large gum tree had fallen directly onto a ute that was travelling along the road, trapping the driver and a dog inside.

Police said members of the public using a grader and chainsaws assisted emergency crews to remove the tree from the crushed vehicle.

“The driver was taken to hospital by ambulance in a serious condition,” SA Police said.

“The dog appears to have escaped injury and is being cared for.”

The road was cleared and police have thanked the local volunteers and community members for their assistance.

The driver was taken to hospital by ambulance in a serious condition. Picture: SA POLICE

By 8.30am, the SES had responded to 55 wind-related incidents across Adelaide, the Yorke and Fleurieu peninsulas, including fallen trees, roof damage, and other structure damage.

SA Power Networks reported 21 outages affecting more than 5000 customers early on Tuesday morning, with impacted areas including Macclesfield, Salisbury and One Tree Hill.

By 4pm, that number had been reduced to six outages, affecting just under 1000 properties.

“What a wild and windy start to the day,” SA Power Networks said in a statement.

“Strong winds have caused damage due to vegetation coming into contact with powerlines.”

SA Power Networks urged residents to stay well away from any downed lines and assume they are live.

Although Tuesday’s cold front has moved east into Victoria and NSW, damaging winds are likely to redevelop early Wednesday, especially across the West Coast.

Gusts of up to 90 km/h are expected again in elevated areas, with winds likely to ease late Wednesday evening.

Rain will also intensify on Wednesday, with up to 25mm forecast for Adelaide.

South Australia SES have responded to 55 wind related incidents on Tuesday. Picture: SA POLICE

Victoria was also hit by damaging winds on Tuesday, with BOM issuing severe weather

warnings for parts of the state, including the Grampians, Central Ranges, and parts of the Mornington Peninsula.

Ballarat and the ski fields were hit with damaging winds up to 100 km/h and blizzard conditions.

The SES has issued a public warning urging people to secure loose items around their properties, move cars under cover and stay indoors in severe weather.

Melbourne and Canberra will see cool highs about 12 degrees through the week, with showers and windy conditions early on and possible frost.

Sydney’s highs are forecast to range from 17 to 20 degrees, staying mostly dry and partly cloudy.

Perth’s temperatures are expected to stay mild, ranging between 17 and 20 degrees with showers early in the week clearing to sunshine.

Brisbane is set to remain sunny with a high of 25 on Wednesday.

Darwin is forecast a hot and sunny week with highs around 30 degrees, while Hobart and Adelaide will experience cooler conditions, with highs of 11 and occasional showers.

Originally published as Hundreds without power as wild winds smash southern Australia