Severe thunderstorms cause widespread power outages across Victoria, NSW, and South Australia
Severe thunderstorms, triggered by a cold front and unstable humid air, hit southeastern Australia last week, bringing destructive winds, hail, and heavy rain. The storms intensified on Thursday, October 17, 2024, and peaked on Friday, causing flash flooding, power outages, and infrastructure damage across Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia.
SES Geeong unit in Geeong after severe thunderstorms that ravaged South Australia from October 17 to 18, 2024. Image credit: VICSES News
- Areas like Geelong, Casterton, and Port Pirie were hardest hit, with winds exceeding 137 km/h (85 mph) and flash floods.
- As of Saturday morning, over 1 500 customers in South Australia and 800 in Victoria are without power, while more than 660 customers in northern New South Wales are also affected by outages.
- A trough is expected to bring isolated severe storms to southeast Queensland, with potential for strong winds, heavy rain, and large hail due to the clash of humid and dry winds, particularly affecting regions like the Southeast Coast and Sunshine Coast later today, October 19.
Severe thunderstorms triggered by a cold front and a humid, unstable air mass have generated destructive winds, hail, and torrential rainfall in southeastern Australia, including vast portions of Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia.
“After a week which saw thunderstorms and severe storms pop up here and there around Australia, the thundery activity really peaked on Thursday and Friday with a low pressure system crossing the southeast of the country on Friday,” Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Angus Hines said.
“This saw widespread, severe thunderstorms affect large parts of Victoria and NSW. This has been gradually weakening and appearing away from the country through the overnight hours.”
The storms, which began developing on Thursday, October 17, and exacerbated on Friday, caused flash flooding and power disruptions.
As of Saturday morning, over 1 500 customers in South Australia were still without electricity, and an additional 800 customers in Victoria were facing power outages on Saturday. In northern New South Wales, over 660 customers were affected by power disruptions.
The storms destroyed infrastructure, including power transmission towers in western New South Wales, shutting off power to many around Buronga and Broken Hill residents.
The hardest hit places included Geelong, which had flash floods after receiving 69 mm (2.7 inches) of rain on Friday, and Casterton in western Victoria, which saw golf-ball-sized hail and significant flooding.
In South Australia, Port Pirie had wind gusts of over 137 km/h (85 mph), while Mount Horrocks received a torrential 36 mm (1.4 inches) downpour in just one hour.
Communities in Melbourne and Adelaide were also battling the aftermath of the storm, with marine wind warnings issued for northern Tasmania.
Wind gusts above 125 km/h (78 mph) downed power lines, while torrential rain produced flash flooding, impacting substations and electrical infrastructure.
“The storm risk has cleared for the worst affected areas from Friday,” Hines said.
The storm system has been steadily moving southeast, and forecasters predict conditions to ease by Saturday afternoon, with most places returning to calmer weather by Sunday.
Emergency services have urged citizens to exercise caution and avoid needless travel. Shane McBride, Victoria’s State Emergency Service (SES) duty officer, warned, “Anyone today who’s thinking of traveling around, it’s really about planning a trip (and) thinking about whether you need to be on the road at all.”
“It only takes 15 cm (6 inches) to float. If you have to be on the road, be very mindful. Be patient. There will be traffic delays.”
Between Thursday night and Friday afternoon, the SES responded to over 260 requests for assistance, including more than 100 reports of building damage, 86 cases of flooding, and 35 instances of fallen trees across the state.
References:
1 Power outages impact parts of Victoria, NSW, and SA – News.com.au – October 19, 2024
2 Motorists urged to stay home instead as storms build – Australian Associated Press – October 18, 2024
3 Severe storms possible in southeast Qld today – Weatherzone – October 19, 2024
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