Victoria, South Eastern Australia, has been subject to a range of severe conditions in recent days / weeks. Recent bush fires causes shear devastation, burning as many as 800 million animals, as estimated by the University of Sydney.
Concerns recently, however, have switched to a different phenomenon altogether: rainfall / storms. A large storm touched down earlier today near Melbourne. This produced exceptionally large hail with diameters of almost 4 inches across. This hail is very large, enough to have done some serious damage.
Heavy rainfall showers are still around, with one area of moderate rainfall currently to the north of Melbourne, moving south. The latest rainfall radar shows this area well. (Image: Australian Bureau of Meteorology)
Several severe weather warnings were issued earlier today as the severe thunderstorms affected the area. Some areas have experienced their wettest 24 hour period in many years. There’s also a minor risk of landslips due to the instability produced by the added moisture.
The severe thunderstorm risk looks to be reducing in the coming days, however at present there’s a risk of more heavy rainfall. Particularly for parts of the south east of Australia (Victoria) on Wednesday, as an area of low pressure is expected to move in.
Whilst the heavy rainfall is good news for those areas affected by wildfires, the rainfall has been a little excessive in places. Unfortunately the risk of more wildfires hasn’t completely gone away, either, as some pretty strong winds and high temperatures are likely later on Tuesday and into Wednesday. However, the heat and wildfires should not be on the magnitude of those recently experienced.
This is no reason to become complacent, please keep a close eye on warnings issued by the Australian Government in the coming days if you are in the area.