Heavy rain may cause floods in Victoria

Heavy rain may cause flash flooding across a large area of Victoria, including Melbourne, from Thursday.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for the Mallee, Wimmera, Northern Country, North Central, North East and Central forecast districts for heavy rain.

The warning affects metropolitan Melbourne and the regional cities of Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Mildura, Swan Hill, Shepparton and Wodonga.

A slow-moving trough over South Australia is expected to deepen as it crosses into Victoria, with an associated low pressure system to develop in eastern Bass Strait on Friday night.

The rain is forecast to begin in the north-west of the state on Thursday morning and to extend south-east during the day.

The State Emergency Service has warned that rain on mountains in the Grampians and north-eastern ranges affected by fire over summer may cause landslips and flooding with debris such as trees, rocks, ash and soil.