According to the government, there is a moderate risk of asthma from the storm in parts of the state.
Melburnians had a scorching night and the second day of the new year got off to a stormy start.
The temperature was 27 degrees just before 7am on Monday, Efron said, and Melbourne Airport recorded a high of 31.6 degrees at 1.30pm.
Beachgoers in St Kilda on the last day of 2022 Credit: Scott McNaughton
A storm hit parts of the city around midnight, cooling things down.
“After the storm, we saw the temperature drop to about 22 in one city and, for now [7am], we are at 27 degrees. So very wet conditions,” Efron said.
The city’s rain gauge recorded 6.4mm and 5.2mm in Moorabbin overnight, while the storms brought winds of up to 65km/h, the senior meteorologist said.
The storm prompted 51 calls for help to Victoria’s SES from 7pm on Sunday night.
Scattered thunderstorms affected parts of Victoria on Monday afternoon. Credit: BoM
Of those, 30 were due to fallen trees and 10 were due to building damage, an SES spokeswoman said.
Wet and blustery conditions continued on Tuesday afternoon, but a cool change began to sweep across Melbourne just after 1.30pm.
In Moorabbin, the office recorded a temperature drop of 10 degrees in 20 minutes.
People in the Wimmera, north central and west and south Gippsland should be prepared but not alarmed, with a moderate thunderstorm asthma warning.
Meanwhile, a total fire ban has been declared in the Mallee district in north-west Victoria.
Eight CFA fire engines responded to a small grass and brush fire on Boyd Road, Gembrook, about 54 kilometers east of the CBD, on Monday afternoon.
There were five more fires in Melbourne’s east fringe on Monday after reports of lightning strikes. In total, CFA crews responded to more than 20 grass, brush and tree fires across the state.
A spokesman for the State Control Center said it was a timely reminder that despite above-average rainfall during the spring and early summer, Victoria’s fire season had begun.
“Victoria is experiencing a grass-dominated fire season,” the spokesman said.
“Regional and outer metro residents and commuters should be prepared.”
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