Melbourne weather: Damaging winds and snow falls in parts of the Vic

A severe weather warning was issued on Thursday morning for damaging north to northwesterly winds affecting central, south west and northern Victoria, most of Gippsland and the Wimmera.

It's the third day of similar warnings from the Bureau of Meteorology.

Melbourne was hit with strong 70km/h gusts on Thursday morning but the city won't cop it quite as badly as earlier in the week.

The bureau's senior forecaster Dean Stewart said the wild weather should calm down throughout the day.

However, it will be a different story in the Alpine regions, where gusts are expected to reach 110km/h and last well into the night. By 4am Thursday, winds in the Grampians had already hit 90km/h.

Regional areas, including Ballarat, Daylesford, Ararat, Kyneton, Bacchus Marsh and Falls Creek, are expected to get some wild gusts of up to 90km/h.

 

 

The extreme conditions have kept State Emergency Service workers and volunteers busy. By midday Wednesday, they had received 826 requests for assistance in the previous 24 hours, including 608 trees down and 205 instances of building damage.

Between 10pm Wednesday and 10am Thursday it was a much calmer story, with the service receiving 23 calls for help from across the state, including 13 fallen trees and six damaged buildings.

Victorians are being urged to take safety precautions, including moving cars under cover or away from trees, securing loose items around houses, yards and balconies and keeping clear of any fallen power lines.

Adding to the wintry blast in the city, rain is expected to arrive Thursday afternoon. The Bureau said the much colder showery airmass would most likely hit just before school pick-up time.

Thursday's temperature is forecast to reach a relatively mild 14 degrees. Friday will bring a slightly cooler top of 12 degrees, coupled with more rain and slightly less wind.