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Thunderstorms are expected to hit Melbourne on Friday while north-eastern Victoria faces flash flooding and hail the size of cricket balls.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Kevin Parkyn said unique winds caused supercell thunderstorms to form in western Victoria on Wednesday, dumping hail “as large as cricket balls” on the small town of Casterton. “That is what we are potentially looking at [on Friday],” he said.
In an emergency briefing at the State Control Centre on Thursday, Parkyn said a “swarm of thunderstorms” will move into central Victoria – including Melbourne – later on Friday morning.
“However, the greatest concern of severe thunderstorm development, and probably the greatest impacts, is over north-eastern Victoria,” he said. “That’s a real focus for storms during the afternoon.”
Parkyn warned giant hail exceeding five centimetres in diameter could hit. Intense rainfall that could cause flash flooding may fall. And destructive winds “capable of ripping trees out of the ground” may blow.
“Unfortunately, [the storms] don’t come with a timetable; they don’t even come with a platform,” he said. “So we have to wait and see how they develop during the day.”
A severe weather warning for damaging winds is in place for parts of the central and north central districts on Friday morning, as well as in the east, north-east, west and south Gippsland districts.
Winds are expected to average between 50 and 60km/h, with gusts of up to 90km/h in the central and north-eastern ranges. Winds of more than 125km/h may hit Victoria’s north-east.