Update, Monday 8am: Bendigo Advertiser readers have begun sending in stunning pictures of lightning over central Victorian skies following last night’s thunder storms.
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A total of 22.6mm of rain fell on Bendigo in the hours since 9am Sunday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
An SES spokesperson said there were only a handful of jobs in central Victoria yesterday, which they were surprised by.
UPDATE: Monday, 6.10am: Several residents in Heathcote and Costerfield remained without power this morning due to storm activity, though Powercor estimated power will come back on shortly.
Three customers remained without power at 6am, with another two at Lewis Road, Ladys Pass affected because of lightning.
A number of residents in Faraday also remain without power because of storm activity, while two outages in Stanhope, two in Charlton, two in Borung and 11 in Laanecoorie are under investigation.
Power is expected to be restored imminently, according to Powercor’s website.
Also under investigation are outages at Barraport West and the Bunguluke area, with power expected to be restored by noon.
Several properties near Donald and Birchip were also affected, according to the Powercor website.
UPDATE, 7.35pm: The weather warning for severe thunderstorms in Victoria has been cancelled.
The Bureau of Meteorology supdate the weather warning at 7.18pm saying the immediate threat of severe thunderstorms has passed.
BOM will continue to monitor the situation and further warnings will be issued if necessary.
Bendigo is set to receive further showers tonight with radars showing rainfall head east across the state from Horsham.
UPDATE, 6.12pm: There have been 28 call outs for SES crews in Victoria over the last six hours.
An SES spokeswoman said Kerang SES has had the most call outs in central Victoria with four requests for help.
Castlemaine SES has been called to two incidents with no call outs for Bendigo and Marong units.
Since 9am, Bendigo has received 13.2mm of rain with 10.8mm of that falling since 3.20pm.
UPDATE, 4.25pm: Canterbury Carols organisers have made the difficult decision to cancel the event for tonight.
Organisers spent the afternoon preparing to hold the carols outside in Canterbury Park and with hopes any rain would clear by 6pm.
But wet weather has set in and a spokesman said there is no time to reset the stage inside the Peter Krenz Leisure Centre.
UPDATE, 3.13pm: Lightning strikes in the area of Castlemaine and Kyneton have cause a number of fire, keeping the CFA busy.
A CFA spokesman said fires in Pipers Creek, Pastoria, Carlsrhue and Glenlyon were all tree fires that were the result of lightning.
Fire crews have the four fires contained.
The Bureau of Meteorology has also updated it’s weather warning to include damaging winds and possible hail stones.
UPDATE, 2.11pm: Organisers of Eaglehawk’s Canterbury Carols are keenly watching the radar.
If storms hit, the carols will take place in the Peter Krenz Leisure Centre next to Canterbury Park.
At this stage it is unclear when, or if, they will make the decision to perform inside.
EARLIER: A storm warning stretching from Horsham in the west to Bright in the east has been issued by the Bureau of Meteorology.
People in Horsham, Bendigo, Shepparton, Seymour, Maryborough, Ballarat, Wodonga and Wangaratta are set to be hit by rain this afternoon.
BOM issued the warning at 12.53pm Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce damaging winds, heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding and large hailstones in the warning area over the next several hours.
The next weather warning will be issued at 3.55pm.
The State Emergency Service advises that people should:
- Move vehicles under cover or away from trees.
- Secure or put away loose items around your house, yard and balcony.
- Keep clear of fallen power lines.
- Keep clear of creeks and storm drains.
- Don't drive, ride or walk through flood water.
- Be aware that in fire affected areas, rainfall run-off into waterways may contain debris such as ash, soil, trees and rocks.
- Be alert that in areas recently affected by fires, heavy rainfall increases the potential for landslides and debris across roads.
- Stay indoors if possible.
- Avoid using the phone during the storm.
- If you are outside, avoid sheltering under trees.
- Listen to the radio for storm updates.
- Switch off your computer and electrical appliances.
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