“If you are located in the Wedderburn township,you are in danger,” the SES statement issued just after 10am said. “You should immediately move indoors,away from floodwater. Do not enter floodwater.”
The SES issued the same warning to residents of St Arnaud,about 240 kilometres north-west of Melbourne,about 11.30am on Christmas Day.
The bureau warned earlier that flash flooding and damaging winds were possible in other parts of the state,including the Castlemaine,Kyneton and Daylesford region,from Sunday.
Storm conditions brought hail to Kyneton in the Macedon Ranges about 3pm on Sunday. The Kyneton Bowling Club was badly damaged by the storm,which flooded a dining room and kitchen. Part of the ceiling of the upstairs conference room also collapsed during Sunday’s storm.
SES responded to 170 calls for help in the Loddon Mallee region,which includes Kyneton,Castlemaine and Echuca,from 5pm to 10am on Monday. Eighty of those were due to downed trees,44 were a result of floods and 38 were due to building damage.
Sunday’s storms were widespread up and down the east coast of Australia,with hail up to 10 centimetres in diameter falling on the Far North Coast of NSW near the Queensland border.
More than 64 millimetres of rain hammered Sydney Airport between 5.30pm and 7pm,delaying flight departures by an hour on average.
Weatherzone meteorologist Angus Konta said showers would persist across western and southern Victoria,including Melbourne,throughout Monday.
“It will be a pretty wet one across the state for Christmas Day. We’ll be seeing a lot of showers and storms forming up,” he said.
Konta said the miserable public holiday weather was being driven by a low-pressure system moving across western Victoria and interacting with a deep trough,stretching from NSW down to Victoria.
The bureau issued a flood watch for Gippsland,north-west,south-west,central and north-east Victoria about 4pm on Sunday. Widespread rainfall of 10 to 40 millimetres was expected in the warning areas during Sunday evening and Monday,with isolated heavier falls of 70 to 80 millimetres possible.
Monday’s conditions are a far cry from last year’s glorious sunshine,when Melburnians were treated to sublime beach weather and a top of 32 degrees on Christmas Day.
Weather bureau meteorologist Joanna Hewes said widespread showers on Monday could be accompanied with damaging winds,severe thunderstorms and large hail.
“I’ve been using the analogy that it’s like the cheap little spinning tops you get inside the Christmas crackers:you’ve put them on the table and you never know exactly where they’re going to go,” she said.
“Like one of those spinning tops,it depends where that low ends up as to which parts of the state are likely to see the heaviest rainfall.”
Hewes urged Victorians to have a contingency plan for their Christmas lunches and keep an eye on thunderstorm warnings throughout the day.
Sport fans filling the MCG for theBoxing Day Test match between Australia and Pakistan on Tuesday might not have much to cheer about either – it could rain all day,with heavy falls expected in the afternoon and evening.
Weatherzone’s Angus Konta said the afternoon sessions of cricket might have to be abandoned because of inclement weather.
“The Boxing Day Test is not looking too good. We’ll likely see showers from at least lunchtime,” he said.
“It may be a little bit less showery in the early morning,we may get one session to play in,but it’s looking likely that at least the last two sessions are not going to see a lot of play.”
The rainy Christmas weather will also make its way to Victoria’s favourite beach holiday haunts.
Loading
Lorne,on the Great Ocean Road,is expected to hit a top of 19 degrees on Monday,with a high chance of drizzle in the afternoon and evening. Up to 35 millimetres of rain could fall on the town.
Mornington will be slightly warmer,reaching 23 degrees on Christmas Day. There’s a 50 per cent chance it will be raining at lunchtime,and up to 20 millimetres of rain is forecast across Monday. The bureau also warned a thunderstorm could hit the Mornington Peninsula.
Those living along Victoria’s border will experience milder conditions when Santa Claus comes to town,with Mildura tipped to peak at 21 degrees and Wodonga forecast to reach 25 degrees.