High winds cause power outages, havoc on roads

A COLD front crossing the state has brought wind gusts of about 90km/h to Hobart and caused a caravan to flip over on the Bridgewater Bridge.

A caravan was blown over by high winds on the Bridgewater Bridge late Sunday afternoon. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

FRESH and gusty winds will continue to blow across Tasmania for the next two days but conditions are not expected to be as rough as on Sunday.

A cold front that crossed the state late Sunday afternoon brought wind gusts of about 90km/h to Hobart and caused a caravan to flip over on the Bridgewater Bridge.

The bridge was closed for an hour while the caravan, beginning to tear apart in the windy conditions, was removed.

Police said a single vehicle car crash near Kingston earlier in the day also appeared to have been caused by high winds.

It appeared the small sedan involved had flipped after it was pushed into an embankment by strong winds while being driven south on the Huon Highway approaching Leslie Vale.

The female driver received minor injuries.

There were a number of power outages caused by the strong winds, and many were still without power Sunday evening.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Alex Melitsis said while windy conditions would continue Monday and Tuesday, the winds would not be as severe.

“For Hobart it’s going to be a bit blustery, a lot cooler and we’ll see the odd little shower blow in from the west ... with sunshine in between,” he said.

“Almost the typical four seasons in one day.”

A power pole blown down onto the road at Buckland. Reader's picture: BELINDA BRAITHWAITE

While Hobart reached a top temperature of 25.3C Sunday, the Monday maximum is expected to be a chilly 15C.

Mr Melitsis said the windiest periods in Hobart on Sunday were around 10am and 5pm.

Gusts of about 90km/h were recorded at both times, while a 109km/h gust was recorded on Mt Wellington at 5.30pm.

Tasmania Police received several reports of fallen power lines and trees.

Sandfly Rd at Sandfly was closed for about two hours because of fallen trees and powerlines and the Tasman Highway was reduced to one lane just south of Buckland because of fallen powerlines.

Originally published as High winds cause power outages, havoc on roads