Get set to ride out the wind

TREE branches are set to fall and umbrellas blown inside out with the windiest day for winter so far forecast for the Geelong region.

Northerly winds up to 55km/h are set to belt Geelong and the Surf Coast from sunrise today and persist until mid-afternoon.

Once the wind has abated somewhat, rain is set to sweep across from the Western District, with a strong chance of showers by twilight and rain stretching into this evening.

Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Stephen King cautioned residents to not leave cars under trees and loose items outside and be mindful of other dangers posed by windy weather.

“Generally, we’re expecting damaging winds of 60 to 70km/h with gusts of 100km/h, and that includes the Melbourne area,” he said.

Mr King said that despite today’s relatively warm top temperature of 19C, the wind meant conditions would still feel like winter.

A high chance of showers is forecast for tomorrow with a maximum of 15C while the start to the working week on Monday will also be wet with a top of 14C.

Showers are also forecast for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Despite this short-term forecast, the Bureau of Meteorology released its spring rainfall projection this week which showed Geelong and surrounds were likely to receive 50-100mm of rain during the next three months, which is below the seasonal average.