Weather News

Wild weather set to hit WA

Bob Neil, Wednesday August 17, 2016 - 10:36 AEST

Parts of Western Australia are advised to bunker down as a powerful system sweeps through.

A Severe Weather Warning has been issued for several districts, including the Lower and Central West, South West, South Coastal, South East Coastal, Great Southern as well as the Central Wheatbelt. This includes all areas southwest of a line from Geraldton to Southern Cross to Esperance, with possible affected locations to include Perth, Margaret River, Bunbury and Mandurah.

Damaging winds, heavy rainfall with possible flash flooding and dangerous surf conditions can be expected. This system will hit in the late morning, peak in the early afternoon and start to ease towards the evening.

Wind gusts are likely to reach in 70-90km/h, with exposed areas possibly experiencing gusts in excess of 125km/hr. At these speeds, damage to homes becomes a possibility with falling branches and downed powerlines becoming a hazard to watch out for.

Rainfall may be heavy at times with most places picking up around 20mm or more. For locations between Perth and Albany, falls look to be higher especially around the coast. This amount brings the risk of flash flooding in some vulnerable areas.

Waves reaching from three-to-five meters are possible, peaking in the late afternoon from Denham to Albany. These waves also carry the likelihood of beach erosion and some flooding of low-lying coastal areas.

This weather is brought by a strong cold front sweeping over the southwest of the state. Systems like this are not uncommon, usually experienced about five times a year.

Residents are advised to move their vehicles under cover and avoid all fallen trees, powerlines, flooded roads as well storm drains.

- Weatherzone

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