Melbourne storms knock out power to thousands; conditions expected to ease Wednesday

Thousands of residents across Melbourne were left without electricity on Tuesday afternoon after heavy rain and thunderstorms swept through the city and surrounding suburbs, causing widespread disruption. As per CitiPower and Powercor, more than 4,200 customers were without electricity as of 3.30pm, according to the Herald Sun. The outages came as intense rainfall overwhelmed city streets, leading to localised flooding in several areas.

A flood warning for the Maribyrnong River was downgraded shortly after 5pm, but authorities warned that isolated minor to moderate flooding could still occur from Wednesday morning, with another cold front forecast to move across the region. Moderate to heavy rainfall and thunderstorms were expected to continue through Tuesday night and into early Wednesday.

The severe weather was not limited to Melbourne, with other parts of Victoria also experiencing heavy rain and storms.


The Bureau of Meteorology forecast a very high chance of rain for the remainder of Tuesday, with thunderstorms likely and heavy falls possibly leading to flash flooding. Southerly winds of 15 to 25 km/h were expected.

Conditions were expected to ease on Wednesday, with cloudy skies and only a slight chance of showers in the early morning. Temperatures are forecast to range between 16 and 21 degrees, with winds strengthening to 25–35 km/h and fire danger rated as moderate.