Update, 6am Friday

A severe weather warning for much of Victoria has been cancelled, but thunderstorms are likely redevelop later this afternoon.

The Bureau of Meteorology advisory said some thunderstorms were still occurring across western Victoria, although they were no longer severe.

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Overnight, storms lashed pats of central Victoria, with St Arnaud recording over 34.0mm of rainfall in just 30 minutes.

The situation will continue to be monitored and further warnings will be issued when necessary.

9.15pm

Both small fires that were sparked east of Bendigo earlier tonight have been declared safe.

About 200 people around Toolleen and Axedale are without power, along with others who have lost power in areas around St Arnaud, Malmsbury and Kyneton.

8.40pm

Hundreds of homes around Malmsbury and Kyneton are without power as firefighters respond to multiple blazes in the area.

That includes arounf 500 in the Kyneton area.

It is unclear if the fires and outages are all linked, at this stage.

Firefighters have brought a small grass and scrub fire under control in Toolleen with crews are responding to reports of another one in Edgecome, near Kyneton.

Firefighters are responding to multiple reports of fires in the east of central Victoria, including a grass and scrub fire in Toolleen which has just been brought under control.

Another fire has been reported in Edgecomb, near Kyneton.

More than 1000 people are without power in St Arnaud, which was hit by a huge downpour earlier this evening.

8pm

Nearly all of central Victoria is now under a severe thunderstorm warning area as lightning crackles over Bendigo.

A mass of dark clouds is rolling in from the west and VicEmergency has issued a "watch and act" warning.

"Prepare to take shelter and be aware of potential hazards caused by the severe weather," the government agency warned.

"Hazards include floodwater, damaged buildings, trees down and fallen power lines."

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A 34.4mm burst of rainfall has been recorded in 30 minutes at St Arnaud, according to the latest Bureau of Meteorology advisory.

Emergency services are responding to requests for assistance throughout that town as well as in areas like Wycheproof.

7.15pm

Bendigo has been added to a weather warning area as storms roll across Victoria.

The Bureau of Meteorology has revised its warnings twice in the space of half-an-hour as the situation shifts.

The warning now stretches all the way to Echuca, according to an updated weather map.

Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce damaging, locally destructive winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding over the next several hours in the Central and parts of the Mallee, South West, Northern Country, North Central and Wimmera districts.

The State Emergency Service advises that people should:

* Be aware that in fire affected areas, rainfall run-off into waterways may contain debris such as ash, soil, trees and rocks. Heavy rainfall may also increase the potential for landslides and debris across roads.

6.45pm

A severe weather warning has been issued for Maryborough and an area stretching close to Bendigo.

People are being warned to expect destructive winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall.

Earlier

Thunderstorm risks are expected to intensify in central parts of Victoria and authorities are warning people to prepare and remain vigilant.

No thunderstorm warnings have been issued for central Victoria so far but towns like Bendigo are being told showers and potential storms are predicted from later today.

Alerts have already gone out for western parts of the state as storm clouds roll towards them.

The Bureau of Meteorology is warning Victorians there is a risk of intense rainfalls as storms move through, especially on Friday.

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Conditions are expected to ease over the weekend but humidity could linger through to next week.

Meanwhile, Bendigo SES volunteers have spoken out after being verbally abused by a member of the public while trying to clear a fallen tree from a road on Wednesday.

Unit Controller Natalie Stanway said the person did not understand how serious the situation was.

"We tried to stop him from going through that scene and we were fortunate he didn't startle our chainsaw operator," she said.

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Emergency crews were called to a slew of incidents on Wednesday afternoon and into the evening including multiple fires believed to have been started by lightning.

Large tracts of the region lost power, including in Bendigo's northern suburbs.

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