Freaky Friday hits Melbourne: Streets turned to rivers and stations transformed into waterfalls

Sydney and Melbourne have been lashed by wild thunderstorms during the Friday afternoon commute. 

Streets in the Victorian capital were turned to rivers as rained pelted the city, with  more than 37 millimetres in less than an hour.  

Pictures and videos shared to social media showed flooded streets and inundated walkways.

‘Flinders street is like Venice,’ one person wrote on Twitter with a video of the conditions. 

Streets in the Victorian capital were quickly turned to rivers as rained pelted the city

The CBD was saturated with more than 37 millimetres between 5 and 6pm and traffic chaos ensued

The CBD was saturated with more than 37 millimetres between 5 and 6pm and traffic chaos ensued

Pictures and videos shared to social media showed numerous streets were flooded from the severe conditions

Pictures and videos shared to social media showed numerous streets were flooded from the severe conditions

VicRoads advised major roads Dudley Street, Montague Street, Punt Road, Swan Street, Albert Road and Queens Road were affected by the conditions.

‘Avoid the area and never drive into floodwater,’ VicRoads warned.

South Melbourne, Albert Park, South Yarra, Richmond, East Melbourne and West Melbourne are all experiencing travel delays, Nine News reported.

Public transport has also been affected by the weather with services facing a number of delays. 

South Yarra train station became flooded by the heavy rain (pictured)

South Yarra train station became flooded by the heavy rain (pictured)

Rain flowed down a staircase like a waterfall in footage shared to Instagram (pictured)

Rain flowed down a staircase like a waterfall in footage shared to Instagram (pictured)

Public transport has also been affected by the weather with services facing a number of delays

Public transport has also been affected by the weather with services facing a number of delays

Metro Trains have tweeted a number of updates and urge commuters to ‘consider the use of alternative transport’.

Train services at Alamein, Belgrave, Glen Waverly and Lilydale have been impacted. 

The Bureau of Meteorology tweeted: ‘SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING for the #Melbourne metropolitan area. Activity heading southwest through the western suburbs towards #Geelong with heavy rainfall.’

The severe thunderstorm warning says heavy rain is anticipated.

Sydney was also lashed with another thunderstorm on Friday afternoon causing traffic and travel delays.

The Bureau of Meteorology released a severe thunderstorm warning for Sydney and Newcastle on Friday night with the possibility of giant hailstones, torrential rain and rampaging winds hitting the coast – as the country’s north braces for a category four cyclone.

Sydney’s airport has gone into lockdown, with all services suspended for the time being due to the wild weather.

More than 30 flights have been cancelled at Sydney Airport. 

A pair of supercell thunderstorms (pictured in red) are bearing down on Sydney and Newcastle

A pair of supercell thunderstorms (pictured in red) are bearing down on Sydney and Newcastle

Sydney also got a brief downpour, with 40mm of rain falling in less than half an hour

Sydney also got a brief downpour, with 40mm of rain falling in less than half an hour

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jordan Notara said the storm travelled through Sydney at about 4pm on Friday.

‘Those storms were mostly in the west, but we did see some strikes on the coast,’ he told Daily Mail Australia. 

Mr Notara said there was still a severe thunderstorm warning which could continue into the evening.

‘There is still a threat into the evening,’ he said.

Mr Notara recommended to check weather updates amid the temperamental conditions.  

Travellers are urged to contact their airlines about cancellations and delays due to the weather. 

More wild rainfall is forecast for Victoria after flash flooding forced one south-east resident to kayak to work on Thursday (pictured)

More wild rainfall is forecast for Victoria after flash flooding forced one south-east resident to kayak to work on Thursday (pictured)

The conditions have also had an impact on Sydney’s roads and public transport services.

Trains between Hornsby, Gosford, the Central Coast and Newcastle have been cancelled due failing signals brought on by the weather.

‘Trains are currently suspended between Hornsby and Gosford in both directions due to urgent power supply repairs affecting signals as a result of severe weather conditions,’ NSW TrainLink North Tweeted on Friday afternoon.

‘Please delay travel if possible. If you need any travel assistance please let us know.’ 

Commuters were forced to line for packed buses due to the cancellations. 

A single-vehicle crash on the Sydney Harbour Bridge is causing traffic chaos across the city.

The crash occurred when a Mitsubishi Mirage hit a stationary vehicle on the bridge at about 4.45pm.

The driver refused to undertake a breath test and has been arrested.

Two children, a three-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy, were in the vehicle at the time of the crash and are being assessed for possible minor injuries.

The Bureau of Meteorology is warning residents to prepare to 'batten down the hatches'

The Bureau of Meteorology is warning residents to prepare to ‘batten down the hatches’

Severe thunderstorms and heavy rain could hit the New South Wales coastline and go as far inland as Orange and Tamworth, about 250km from the coast. 

The New South Wales State Emergency Services have advised residents to use sandbags under their doors to help keep flood waters from leaking into their homes.

The Bureau of Meteorology shared the sentiment, warning people to ‘be prepared to batten down the hatches’.

Mr Notara said the rainfall was not as strong as what was recorded on Thursday evening when Sydney braced another storm. 

Most rainfall was recorded in Sydney’s west on Friday with between 20-30mm recorded from 9am. 

Wild storms are ravaging Sydney (pictured), as experts warn people to expect the worst

Wild storms are ravaging Sydney (pictured), as experts warn people to expect the worst

The Bureau said about 10mm was recorded on the coast. 

On Thursday night, 40mm of rain fell in less than half an hour. 

Winds of up to 107km/h whipped through the city’s western suburbs on Thursday night, as nearly 700 calls for help were made to emergency services.

A further 30,000 homes and businesses were left without power in the quickfire storm.

But that could just be a sign of what’s to come for Friday, with more lightning, hailstorms and wild winds forecast to rampage through the state on Saturday.

Victoria also felt the pinch of the wild weather on Thursday, with more than 100 people needing to be rescued from semi-submerged cars on the Hume Freeway. 

The two supercell storms (pictured) will pass over Sydney and Newcastle on Friday night

The two supercell storms (pictured) will pass over Sydney and Newcastle on Friday night

But that could just be a sign of what's to come for Friday, with more lightning, hailstorms and wild winds forecast to rampage through the state on Saturday

But that could just be a sign of what’s to come for Friday, with more lightning, hailstorms and wild winds forecast to rampage through the state on Saturday

Melbourne's inner-city flooded, with pedestrians forced to wade through the high waters

Melbourne’s inner-city flooded, with pedestrians forced to wade through the high waters

Another month's rainfall could come down on Friday, with a further 20mm forecast in the morning

Another month’s rainfall could come down on Friday, with a further 20mm forecast in the morning

More than a month’s worth of rain fell in regional areas overnight.

The average December rainfall for Melbourne is 59mm, with the city already surpassing that on Thursday and another 20mm forecast for Friday.

The rural town of Everton had 162mm fall overnight on Thursday alone.

Meanwhile, 20 homes flooded in the Central Victorian area of Birchip with 10 people evacuated. A community meeting will be held on Friday to discuss further flooding procedures, the SES say.

‘It’s like an ocean here where we are at the moment, our whole street is under water,’ one resident told 3AW radio on Friday morning.

Periods of heavy rainfall led to flash flooding in both Sydney and Melbourne on Friday

Periods of heavy rainfall led to flash flooding in both Sydney and Melbourne on Friday

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The flash flooding in Victoria (pictured) coincides with an impending tropical cyclone

a severe weather warning for Victoria with heavy rainfall covering the entire state

A severe weather warning was issued for Victoria with heavy rainfall across the entire state

Thunderstorms on Thursday night (pictured) will continue on Friday, forecasters warn

Thunderstorms on Thursday night (pictured) will continue on Friday, forecasters warn

The overnight rainfall continues on Friday, with the worst storms forecast to fall in the state’s east, predominantly the South Gippsland area. 

‘Rain and thunderstorms are expected across the warning area during today and Friday, with periods of heavy rainfall likely that may lead to flash flooding,’ a warning issued by The Bureau of Meteorology reads.

Authorities continue to warn not to drive or even walk through flood waters, after dozens of cars and trucks were submerged in the flood waters.

Torrential rains, particularly in New South Wales, are linked to a tropical cyclone brewing in the country’s north.

Meanwhile, a category three cyclone could hit far-north Queensland on late Friday afternoon

Meanwhile, a category three cyclone could hit far-north Queensland on late Friday afternoon

The cyclone is currently off the coast of the Northern Territory, and is slowly heading east

The cyclone is currently off the coast of the Northern Territory, and is slowly heading east

Cairns and the rest of far-north Queensland are meanwhile bracing for Tropical Cyclone Owen, with meteorologists saying it could hit either Friday or Saturday.

WHAT IS A CATEGORY THREE CYCLONE? 

Tropical cyclones are categorised on a scale of one to five based on severity.

TC Owen, which is expected to hit Queensland on Friday, is classed as a category three.

A category three cyclone would cause: 

– Some roof and structural damage. Some caravans destroyed. Power failures likely.

– A category three cyclone’s strongest winds are very destructive winds with typical gusts over open flat land of 165-224kph.

However, the cyclone could be re-classified once it actually hits land, which will be either Friday or Saturday. 

Source: Bureau of Meteorology 

As of Friday morning, the cyclone is tracking off the coast of the Northern Territory, but has begun to move east and could hit Queensland as soon as midday.

The cyclone is currently classed as a category three based on its 200km/h wind speed.

But forecasters say it could become a category four, surpassing 280km/h when it crosses the Gulf of Carpentaria and into Queensland.

A cyclone warning is in place from Port McArthur in the Northern Territory, to Aurukun in Queensland.

Residents are being told to brace for wild winds and flooding.

Some are concerned that floods will cause landslides, after wild bushfires rampaged through the state, leaving some regions’ hillsides unstable.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she’d been briefed on the danger and assured Queenslanders that authorities in the cyclone danger area are well prepared.

The devastating cyclone, which is deemed as ‘very destructive’ by the Bureau of Meteorology, is a result of a coinciding mass air movement and low pressure system.

Some areas of Victoria recorded as much as 162mm of rain in less than 12 hours on Thursday

Some areas of Victoria recorded as much as 162mm of rain in less than 12 hours on Thursday

‘It’s being caused by a trough of air mass movement from the north, and with a low pressure system coming through, is generating large amounts of rainfall,’ Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Peter Newham told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday.

A Bureau of Meteorology forecaster previously told Daily Mail Australia the thunderstorms would be the result of a cold front in the south of the country.

The cold front and low-pressure system moved from Victoria up to New South Wales which brought showers and a storm to Sydney on Thursday night.

Canberra can also expect storms and upwards of 55mm of rain between Thursday and Saturday.

Brisbane was also predicted to get up to 100mm of rainfall over the weekend.

AUSTRALIA’S WEEKEND FORECAST

 SYDNEY  

Friday: Min 21, Max 28, Rain 

Saturday:  Min 21, Max 27, Rain

Sunday: Min 21, Max 29, Shower

BRISBANE

Friday: Min 22, Max 30, Storm

Saturday: Min 22, Max 29, Storm

Sunday: Min 24, max 26, Storm

DARWIN 

Friday: Min 27, Max 33, Storm

Saturday: Min 26, Max 33, Storm

Sunday: Min 28, Max 34, Shower

CANBERRA 

Friday: Min 16, Max 26, Rain

Saturday: Min 15, Max 28, Rain

Sunday: Min 15, Max 28, Sunny

 MELBOURNE 

Friday: Min 18, Max 22, Rain

Saturday: Min 15, Max 25, Storm

Sunday: Min 17, Max 24, Shower

ADELAIDE

Friday: Min 12, Max 20, Rain

Saturday: Min 15, Max 24, Rain

Sunday: Min 15, Max 24, Cloudy

PERTH

Friday: Min 21, Max 38, Sunny  

Saturday: Min 21, Max 32, Cloudy 

Sunday: Min 17, Max 25, Shower

HOBART 

Friday: Min 16, Max 22, Cloud

Saturday: Min 15, Max 20, Rain

Sunday:  Min 17, Max 26, Rain 

 Source: Bureau of Meteorology 

 

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