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Thousands of Victorians have been left without power and Melbourne airport has been forced to ground flights as a major storm front swept across the state’s south.
Some 5,578 customers were experiencing power outages as of 8.30pm on Thursday, many in Melbourne’s western suburbs.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for large parts of the state from Echuca in the north to Geelong in the south amid the downpour.
The weather event first hit the Geelong, Port Phillip and the Bellarine Peninsula regions on Thursday afternoon, moving east to north-east as the night progressed.
Melbourne Airport was lashed with the heaviest initial downpour, recording 40mm of rain in the 20 minutes to 5.30pm which resulted in the delays of a number of inbound and outbound flights.
Hail up to 3cm in diameter was reported in Geelong around the same time, while Tatura recorded 26mm in the 30 minutes to 7pm.
All outbound lanes off the Tullamarine Freeway onto Sunbury Road are blocked by flood water near Melbourne Airport. Drivers are needing to u-turn and backtrack. Avoid the area using Mickleham Road or the Calder Freeway. Never drive through flood water. #victraffic pic.twitter.com/GVjDRD47QS
— VicTraffic (@VicTraffic) December 22, 2022
A spokesperson for Melbourne airport said all aerodrome operations were temporarily suspended on Thursday due to the risk of lightning strike, which resulted in the grounded flights.
“Now that the storm has passed, ground staff have resumed operations and are working to safely get passengers to their destinations,” they said.
“This afternoon’s storm has resulted in a significant number of water leaks across Melbourne airport’s terminals and we are currently cleaning up the impacted areas.
“The safety of passengers and staff is our top priority. We apologise to passengers for the inconvenience.”
Areas to be impacted later on Thursday evening included metropolitan Melbourne and the regional cities of Shepparton, Seymour, Ballarat, Geelong, Wangaratta, Traralgon and Bairnsdale.
Parts of Craigieburn were already experiencing flooding and building damage as the storm moved through Melbourne, the Victoria Emergency website confirmed.
“A low pressure trough is combining with a moist and unstable atmosphere to produce showers and thunderstorms across much of Victoria,” the BoM said.
“Heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding, damaging winds and large hailstones are likely.”
Victoria’s State Emergency Service (SES) warned Victorians to avoid travel if possible amid dangerous conditions and, if on the road, to look out for hazards including floodwater and fallen trees.
It said recent storms may make trees unstable and likelier to fall amid windy or wet conditions.
“Stay indoors and away from windows,” it said.
“If outdoors, move to a safe place indoors. Stay away from trees, drains, gutters, creeks and waterways.”
A flood warning remained in place for the state’s Murray and Edward Rivers, with prolonged flooding continuing at Euston, Mildura, Wentworth, Moulamein, Barham, Wakool Junction and Boundary Bend.
The Murray wasn’t expected to fall below a minor flood level in Victoria until early January as water moves into South Australia’s catchments.
Conditions have eased in the Mallee district, leading to the cancellation of a severe thunderstorm warning.
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