Wild spring storm in Perth rips off roofs, tears down trees

Western Australia has been lashed by a wild spring storm, ripping up trees, downing power poles, and forcing the Royal Show to shut down.

Early signs of the severe weather started in the Perth suburb of Applecross when a resident woke to rainfall in his home.

Just after 7am, a powerful gust of wind ripped his roof off, sending it flying and crashing into a neighbour's yard.

Winds surpassing 100km/h were caused by a low pressure system that crossed the coast and kept SES crews busy with more than 90 jobs throughout the day.

The storm wreaked havoc across the suburbs including Claremont, where the Royal Show was forced to close early.

Organisers said it was in the interest of public safety after a 6-year-old boy was hurt when the inflatable ball he was in was picked up by wind.

His father said the ball was thrown 1.8m into the air, over a fence and landed on nearby bitumen, hurting the boy's neck and arm.

He was taken to Perth Children's Hospital and was later discharged.

Meanwhile, the severe weather has caused shopping headaches when part of the Garden City Shopping Centre ceiling collapsed. Glass crashed down into the mall narrowly missing shoppers.

The wild weather has also played havoc with Perth's power network, with 25,000 homes and business left without electricity.

A spokesperson from Western Power said the majority of the blackouts were caused by downed trees and branches.

The destructive gusts brought down trees across Perth with a massive gum crashing down on a building at Aquinas College. Several trees also fell on the UWA campus.

Despite its destruction, some people took the wild weather as an opportunity to get out on the water, like wind surfer James Hammond.

"If the conditions are right for what you want to do, you do it," he told 9News.

Rottnest Island was hardest hit with gusts of wind reaching 107km/h, while Jandakot recorded its strongest gusts in three years at 93km/h.