Wild winds have downed trees across Victoria with emergency services fielding hundreds of calls for help.
A severe weather warning was in place for much of the state overnight as “destructive winds” of up to 130 km/h were predicted to hit the state.
Melbourne’s winter has come with its fair share of wild weather.Credit:Jason South
The State Emergency Service received 202 calls for help overnight and 164 were already cleared on Wednesday morning.
Of those calls, 165 were for fallen trees and 38 requests for assistance were still outstanding, a spokesman said.
The worst affected areas were Pakenham and Emerald, according to the SES.
Buses are replacing trains across parts of the Hurstbridge and Belgrave lines according to Metro Trains this morning.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s duty forecaster Phoebe de Wilt said there were “strong and gusty winds” across Melbourne overnight but they would be easing today.
“While the winds are easing it’s still going to be a windy day across Victoria,” she said.
“It’s not going to be calm, including in the metro area it’s going to be a relatively breezy day.”
In the metropolitan area the top gusts of 89 km/h were recorded at Essendon Airport, with Moorabbin Airport recording 85 km/h overnight.
“We have seen gusts of over 100 km/h in the alpine peaks and elevated areas,” de Wilt said.
Mt Hotham recorded the fastest winds overnight, with winds reaching up to 128 km/h.
The forecaster said there was still a severe weather warning for the alpine areas because the cold front is still moving through the region.
“We are expecting more vigorous winds to come into the southwest of the state later this evening,” she said.
These gusts are expected to be around 50 to 60 km/h with peak winds hitting up to 90 km/h.
Despite the windy conditions, she said temperatures were going to be relatively mild for the rest of the week.
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