WEATHER MAYHEM
122KM/H WINDS LASH REGION EMERGENCY SERVICES CALLED TO WORKSAFE BUILDING DRAMA POWER CUT & TREES DOWN D IN STORM CHAOS
SEVERE thunderstorms have caused chaos around Geelong, bringing down trees and powerlines — and there could be more to come as another cold front threatens.
Two storm fronts powered through the region from early afternoon, the second right on school pick-up time at 3pm.
Damaging wind gusts lashed the Surf Coast, the city and around Corio Bay, the strongest a 122km/h blast at a weather station at Point Wilson.
Emergency services were kept busy as reports of trees down flooded in and motorists were on alert as heavy rain and strong winds buffeted the city.
Most of the incidents came from areas south of Geelong, including Belmont and Breakwater, where a fallen tree damaged a car at Apparel Cl.
The State Emergency Service responded to 52 incidents in the Geelong area across the afternoon, 34 for trees down and 18 for building damage.
But the highest-profile casualty of the high winds was the newly-opened WorkSafe building on Malop St. A new eave between the new part and the old part of the structure came loose and parts of Gheringhap St and Malop St were closed in peak hour while emergency crews assessed the damage.
The weather also reduced air quality to “very poor” levels around 3pm, according to an Environmental Protection Agency air quality recording station at South Geelong, with high levels of particulate matter present.
Powercor workers were also called into action as the weather cut power to 250 homes, including 80 at Herne Hill and 169 at Bell Park.
A Powercor spokeswoman said a fallen tree on powerlines was the reason for the Herne Hill outage.
V/Line was also forced to cancel its 4.43pm Southern Cross to Waurn Ponds service due to a train fault caused by a fallen tree beyond South Geelong station, while the 5.41pm Southern Cross to South Geelong was also affected, reduced to three cars.
Avalon Airport had a wind gust of 91km/h at 3.03pm, but flights were not affected.
Geelong Racecourse recorded its equal highest wind gust of 2018 at 85km/h, coinciding with a temperature drop of 4.5C in nine minutes from 2.51pm to 3pm. Geelong Weather Services director Lindsay Smail, who reported a change in temperature from 19C to 10C within 30 minutes, said it was pleasing to see the region enjoy a reasonable drink of around 5mm.
The windy conditions are set to continue on a partly cloudy day today before another cold front approaches tomorrow, with more predictions of thunderstorms and possible hail on the Surf Coast.