Violent storm, flash floods hit Melbourne, Australia
A violent low pressure system brought heavy rain to Melbourne and other parts of Victoria, Australia on December 29, 2016, causing flash flooding and havoc across the region.
The storm hit around 15:00 local time, after a hot and humid summer day and one of the hottest nights on record for Melbourne. With a temperature of 27 °C (80.6 °F) it was the hottest overnight temperature in Melbourne this year.
Parts of Victoria saw more than 25 mm (0.98 inches) of rain in just 30 minutes. Some areas recorded 18 mm (0.7 inches) in just 10 minutes.
Viewbank weather stations recorded a whopping 57.8 mm (2.27 inches) in just 30 minutes to 16:30 AEDT. Between 09:00 and 23:00, they received 82 mm (3.22 inches).
Melbourne rainfall on December 29, 2016 since 09:00 local time. Credit: BOM
A major flood warning has been issued for Elsternwick Creek, Elwood Canal in Melbourne's south-east with residents warned they may need to evacuate, The Age reported.
Response at Elsternwick Main Drain: https://t.co/ahuQxHkuNJ #melbweather pic.twitter.com/GbbvpBVk9t
— BOM Victoria (@BOM_Vic) December 29, 2016
Elwood Canal full to the point of bursting, warning messages from the SES in phone, be safe out there #melbourneweather pic.twitter.com/6uj9qGT0Xg
— Mathew Langdon (@mnlangdon) December 29, 2016
Sitting on porch when Melbourne weather decided to go nuts in 15min #melbweather #melbourneweather @9NewsMelb pic.twitter.com/9Se8jLbvml
— Bedrich (@Coach_Bedroc) December 29, 2016
A series of storms have also struck holidaymakers on the Mornington and Bellarine peninsulas and in the outer north-west and south-east suburbs of greater Melbourne.
According to The Age, the temperature in Melbourne was 33.4 °C (92.1 °F) at 14:30 AEDT and dropped to 28.3 °C (82.9 °F) at 14:57 just before the storm hit. By 15:30, the temperature was down to 25 °C (77 °F) and at 16:00 at 23.3 °C (73.9 °F).
The SES has said they received more than 1 500 calls for assistance since midnight. Most of them for flooding and roof damage. A number of people had to be rescued from their cars.
A severe weather warning for heavy rain and thunderstorms is still current for Melbourne as the low pressure trough moves across the state slowly.
Emergency Management Commissioner Craig Lapsley said people need to take care in these conditions.
"Some of these could be really fast forming [rain] cells where you look three hours before and think I know where the rain is on the radar, it could change dramatically in a matter of hours the way the weather might form up this afternoon," he told 774 ABC Melbourne.
Featured image: Melbourne on December 29, 2016. Credit: Mark Stewart (via Twitter)
This was an incredible event. I live in one of the areas which received huge amounts of rainfall. The roads became rivers and many cars were caught in the flash flooding and many houses were flooded or otherwise damaged. We live on a hill and were getting flooded with torrents of water finding its way to lower ground. The heavens didn’t just open, as we say in Oz, but it fell.