Wild weather lashes northern Victoria

UPDATE: The weird weather continued this morning with widespread, and very rare fogs, across the northwest of the state.

Storms batter Victoria

UPDATE: The weird weather continued this morning with widespread, and very rare fogs, across the northwest of the state.

Many rural areas remain without electricity this afternoon with Powercor estimating almost 3000 customers are still without power after last night’s storms.

Foggy start: The weird weather continued in northern Victoria this morning with widespread fogs. Picture: Kerrie Cunning.

Most of the areas remaining to be restored are in northern Victoria which seemed to be the hardest hit by high winds.

Three large grain silos on the Leed farm near Pyramid Hill appeared to have been squeezed by a mighty hand during the height of the storm.

There are many reports of building damage in what has become a year of haphazard rain and lots of storm activity.

READ MORE: Tornado hits farm

More than 25mm of rain was recorded in backyard rain gauges by 9am this morning in some areas of Mildura after two different storms struck yesterday.

Hail was common in many areas of western Victoria as the line of storms marched across in a line yesterday evening.

There have been reports of minor damage to homes, sheds and other property, but less is known about the rich horticulture crop, which was again exposed to the wrath of nature.

Another blast: Storm clouds roll into Mildura again last night, the region has been battered by storms in the past month. Picture: Victorian Storm Chasers.

The NSW side of the border at Mildura, in the Gol Gol/Wentworth areas, has already been declared a natural disaster area after horticulture crops were wiped out by a tornado late last month.

Crop losses have already totalled $20m with the destruction of 1000ha of table and wine grapes, 790ha of citrus trees, 20ha eggplants and capsicums, 20ha melon plants and 5ha of avocados.

There are renewed fears after last night’s storms of mildew and rot in surviving grape crops.

READ MORE: Natural disaster status for Gol Gol

Rainfall totals across the state from the storms ranged from 10mm-20mm.

Totals to 9am: Charlton, 12mm; Longerenong, 12mm; Stawell, 10mm; Dartmoor, 11mm; Port Fairy, 11mm; Portland, 13mm; Avalon, 18mm; Shepparton, 14mm; Kyabram, 11mm; Yarrawonga, 14mm; Rutherglen, 19mm; Wangaratta, 13mm; and Omeo, 13mm.

For once, most of Gippsland missed out on big totals.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Meteorology today released its latest drought update, which again pinpoints western Victoria as meeting Commonwealth criteria as being technically in drought.

The bureau said rainfall was below average across most of eastern Australia for most of 2014 with particularly low rainfall in the past two months exacerbating rainfall deficiencies across parts of the east.

The bureau said: “Serious and severe deficiencies have also slightly increased where they persist over most of the western half of Victoria ...”

READ MORE: Amazing storm pictures emerge