Unprecedented Tornado Strikes Melbourne: Experts Analyze Rare Weather Phenomenon

Victoria found itself drenched in a chaotic afternoon as powerful thunderstorms swept through the region, leaving a trail of wild weather in their wake.

Residents in Wyndham Vale, Werribee, and Hoppers Crossing reported witnessing what they believed to be a small tornado ripping through their neighborhoods during the storm’s peak intensity.

David Crock, a senior meteorologist, confirmed that experts in thunderstorm analysis had reviewed both social media videos and radar data, uncovering “pretty strong” evidence that a tornado briefly touched down.

Videos shared online captured a “wind funnel” in the sky, closely resembling a tornado.

“The pattern of damage observed across these suburbs provides compelling evidence of a tornado occurrence,” Crock stated.

“The radar data shows a weak signal, but a signal nonetheless, that there was likely a tornado briefly in the area.”

Crock said it was uncommon to see a tornado form in Victoria, particularly in a populated suburb of Melbourne.

He said it was even more unusual for residents to actually spot a tornado as it developed.

“But we do see it time to time as we enter the peak of storm season,” he added.

Crock said experts were still in the processing of assessing the intensity of the tornado.

The category level of a tornado is usually determined by the amount of damage it leaves in its wake.

“The track of damages through the areas, the way it tracks east and then north-east, that is a distinctive path a thunderstorm with a tornado would take,” Crock said.

A smaller tornado can have wind speeds in the realm of 90 to 100km/h.

Locals took videos of the tornado as it blew through the streets of Werribee, Wyndham Vale and Hoppe’s Crossing.

“Next door’s shed got lifted off its slab and lifted the power lines here on Tarneit Road,” local man Adam told 9News.

The ferocious winds uprooted trees, tore down fences and damaged power lines as the storms developed quickly and seemingly without warning.

Nearly 30,000 people were left without power yesterday as the strong winds, heavy rain and occasional lightning strike belted the city.

Victoria’s SES has received 650 calls for help across the state from midnight yesterday to 11am today.

Up to 150 homes in Wyndham were damaged in the flash storms.

The SES is still working through a backlog of calls as conditions eased today.

“SES Wyndham Unit is our busiest crew, with over 180 requests for assistance and counting,” the SES noted in an update on Facebook.

VICSES State Agency Commander David Tucek said crews may need to work into tomorrow to respond to requests.

He said there were more than 200 calls for help in the areas impacted by the tornado.

Most of the calls involved building damage.

Drones are still assessing the damage in Melbourne’s west.

A tram was also stuck in Richmond and some cars were left stranded by sudden flash flooding in both South Melbourne and West Melbourne.

Thousands are still without power today across Melbourne.

The heavy rain also made yesterday the wettest day in 18 months.

Around 35mm fell and inundated streets, homes and businesses, the most rainfall since April 2024.

The Bureau of Meteorology reported Melbourne’s Olympic Park was lashed with 37.4mm of rain, followed by 36.4mm at Avalon Airport.

However the BoM noted that it wasn’t unusual for severe storms to develop across Melbourne during spring.

“Spring is the time for Melbourne and Victoria to get this sort of weather, as we start to see some more dynamic cold fronts moving across,” senior meteorologist Simon Timke said.

The high risk of thunderstorms yesterday prompted the state’s chief health officer to issue an epidemic thunderstorm asthma forecast warning of “high” for the northern country district.