The temperature dropped five degrees between 9 am and 10 am as clouds built up, bringing wind gusts of up to 105 kmh.

Wade Street residents went without power for eight hours after a tree was uprooted, crashing across power lines and demolishing a residential front fence. The occupant of the house said there was a "huge gust of wind and over it (the tree) went".

Residents in Napier Street, Eaglehawk, were faced with the same scenario when a tree branch fell across the power lines in front of the Community Health Services building.

Emergency services were also called to the Castlemaine and Marong districts, where trees and debris had fallen.

Powercor crews worked frantically around the clock to restore power to 545 homes.

Several traffic lights along High Street, Golden Square, and in View Street were out of operation for 30 minutes, creating uncertainty among motorists.

Powercor spokesperson Steven Ronchi said the nature of the storm damage meant heavy vehicles were needed to repair the power lines.

"When the (Wade Street) tree fell across the lines, it damaged the cross-arm of the power pole, which required major repairs," he said.More than 545 customers in the Golden Square area lost power for eight hours. A Honeysuckle Street resident, Mrs Harris, phoned The Advertiser yesterday expressing her disappointment at not being notified by the correct authorities about the power failure.

"I continually tried to phone Powercor and Origin Energy, but all I could get was a message bank," she said.

"We don't know what time the power will come back on or anything. It's very frustrating. "We have listened to the radio, but there have been no bulletins over the news about it." Power was restored to the homes about 5 pm yesterday.