A STRONG front will bring gusty winds and rainfall into most parts of the state this weekend, according to Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) senior forecaster Tom Delamotte.
“We’re going to see a strong front approach Victoria on Saturday morning, then move across the state later in the day,” Mr Delamotte said.
“Ahead of that we’re going to see very strong, gusty, northerly winds develop earlier in the morning.”
Severe weather warnings have been issued for parts of central and south-west Victoria, and parts of Gippsland and the Wimmera, where winds are expected to get up to 105 kilometres an hour.
“There will be gusts of up 90-105km/h during Saturday, probably strongest in the southern ranges, but outside of that will be gusty too, with winds ranging from 70-80km/h through much of the western and central parts of the state,” he said.
The front will also drag hot air into the state.
“In the north-west of the state, we’re expecting temperatures to reach the mid to high 20s, but that drops off to around the high teens the further south you go,” he said.
Rain should also come.
“We should see rain develop in the south-west of the state in the afternoon, and then extend across the state by early Sunday morning,” he said.
“The heaviest falls are going to be through the south-west district, and adjacent Wimmera area.
“Falls in those areas will range from 5-10 millimetres, with isolated falls to bring the total up to potentially 15mm, but much else of the state should only receive 1-3mm.”
Mr Delamotte said winds will ease on Sunday.
“We’re not expecting winds to be overly strong on Sunday, we might see a few showers around particularly in the southern half of the state and eastern ranges, but probably only 1-3mm,” he said.
He said Monday will be similar with less rainfall, and Tuesday should be quite dry.
Sea Lake grower Nic Harrison said he is hoping for rain to come soon.
“We got about 3-4mm on Thursday night, but before that we’ve just had little showers of 1-2mm, nothing significant,” Mr Harrison said.
“Our chemical fallow is helping with the dry conditions, but we need a good spring finish to help the crops.
“They are looking good at the moment, but we are just worried about how August and September will go.”
