Hang on to your hats, Victoria
High wind warnings remain in place across Victoria following Thursday evening's damage throughout Melbourne.
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Fierce winds that ripped trees from the ground and damaged buildings on Thursday have continued overnight - and the gusts could intensify again in a few hours’ time as another cold front builds along the state’s west coast.
State Emergency Services spokesman Toby Borella said crews responsed to 273 calls on Thursday - and 90 since midnight on Friday.
The scene at Falls Creek, where more than 10cm of snow fell overnight.
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‘‘There have been lots of trees falling and causing traffic hazards, and minor building damage here and there,’’ he said.
Damage is widespread throughout Melbourne but there are no reports of injuries at this stage, he said.
The SES is urging people to be aware of fallen trees and branches when travelling on Friday.
‘‘This is a widespread issue,,’’ he said.
Bureau of Meteorology spokesman Peter Blake said the worst winds occurred in Mount Bulla, where gusts reached 133km/h, and in Wilsons Promontory, with wind speed up to 121km/h.
Mr Blake said bayside suburbs such as Frankston, Geelong and the Peninsula were also badly affected.
‘‘The worst of the winds are to the east of Melbourne at the moment, and with another cold front coming up towards the west coast, winds could be intensified again tonight,’’ he said.
The bureau has issued a damaging wind warning for Thursday and forecast strong northerly winds of about 60km/h, gusting up to 100km/h, in Melbourne and southern Victoria.
The bureau’s Scott Williams told 3AW that ‘‘I think we’ll see the windy conditions persist on the coast, particularly this morning with a second peak in the evening.
‘‘So we’ve maintained the severe weather warning for local damaging wind gusts from 90km/h to 100km/h, especially in association with showers, which are coming through down there’’.
Meanwhile, a vigorous cold front has fallen on the the Alps, with temperatures hovering around the freezing mark overnight.
Temperatures dipped to minus 3.2 degrees at Falls Creek early on Friday morning, with wind chill making the temperature feel like a much chillier minus 12.9.
Snow began falling at Falls Creek late on Thursday night, resulting in about 10 to 15cm of snow falling across the Alpine resorts.
The combination of strong winds and icy temperatures is at least a boon to ski enthusiasts, with plenty of snow falling in Alpine regions.
"We’re having a real blast of winter up here in the mountains," Falls Creek ski lifts spokesperson Anthony O’Shea said.
"Before dawn this morning, we had 10cm of fresh snow in the village and our slope maintenance team are reporting 15cm and more on the higher ground."
"The temperatures dropped dramatically in the early hours of this morning. We’re at minus 3 degrees now and there’s still more moisture in the system, so we should see more snow falling throughout the day."
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