Thousands of homes were left without power after fleeting but fierce storms brought down 500 trees and caused flash flooding across Victoria on Tuesday.
Peak-hour commuters in Melbourne were forced to duck for cover as squally winds and heavy showers hit the CBD about 5pm.
A fleeting hail storm hit the CBD about 4pm, sending city workers running for cover. About the same time, the temperature dropped 5 degrees, making for a chilly evening commute.
Parents and children were frightened when the strong winds brought down a tree onto secondary college Our Lady of Sacred Heart in Bentleigh. The tree narrowly missed cars as it fell through the school's fence.
A State Emergency Services spokesman said 500 trees came down in the storm across Victoria, with most falling in Melbourne's eastern suburbs.
Citipower and Powercor said 5903 customers were without power across the state, including in Melbourne, Ballarat and Geelong, at 7pm. Power had been restored to all but 700 customers by 9.30pm.
Surfers in the storm at Kerferd Road Pier. Photo: Leigh Henningham
Sunshine is coming
While rain is expected to linger about the city until Wednesday, Thursday is expected to deliver sunshine with an expected top of 25 degrees and a "mostly sunny" forecast, according to the bureau.
So, keep your brolly handy but get your sunnies ready.
Flash flooding fears
A Wangaratta caravan park was left under water after the strong front dumped up to 60 millimetres of rain over Victoria's nort-east on Tuesday.
Water rising from the Ovens River flooded the Painters Island Caravan Park in Wangaratta. Photo: Mark Jesser
Major flood warnings were in place on Tuesday night for the Ovens and Kings rivers, as well as for the Loddon River, near Bendigo, and the Avoca river, near the East Wimmera town of Charlton.
Charlton residents were again on high alert as the Avoca reached 7.14 metres on Tuesday. The river is expected to peak at 7.5 metres overnight on Wednesday.
In September, houses in the town flooded when the river peaked at 7.6 metres.
State Emergency spokesman Stefan Delatovic said workers were door knocking homes between Bridgewater and Charlton to warn residents.
"It's in the quantum of what we have seen in the last few weeks out there," he said. "They are not expecting significant impact to homes or businesses but given there is a bit more rain coming they are just putting a lot of effort into making sure the community is informed."
Mr Delatovic warned motorists to avoid flood waters. "This weekend we saw a few more people driving through floodwater, so we just want to reiterate that it's really dangerous and a bad decision to make."
The Great Ocean Road remains closed to traffic between Separation Creek and Wye River.
- with Daniella Miletic, Neelima Choahan