Lucky escape for driver in SA floods

A motorist has been swept 600 metres down a flooded river in the Adelaide Hills as severe winds and heavy rain continue to cause problems across parts of South Australia.

The driver of the four-wheel-drive was trying to cross the Bremer River at Callington when his car was swept downstream.

The State Emergency Service was called to help but said the man had managed to scramble first onto the car's roof and then make his way to shore before crews arrived.

The incident prompted a warning from both the SES and police for local residents and anyone else in the hills not to attempt to cross flooded rivers and creeks.

A severe weather warning remained in place for South Australian southern coastal regions on Thursday with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting wind of more than 90km/h.

The centres most likely to be affected included the Adelaide metropolitan area along with Port Lincoln, Kingscote on Kangaroo Island and Mt Gambier.

The bureau said a wind gust of 115km/h was recorded at Neptune Island as a vigorous westerly airstream moved across the state.

A flood watch also remained in place for the Mt Lofty Ranges, particularly along the Onkaparinga River.

Adelaide was tipped to have up to 15mm of rain on Thursday and another 5mm on Friday but falls in the hills were likely to be much higher.

The bureau said conditions were expected to moderate by Friday afternoon and improve further over the weekend.

The SES said it responded to more than 40 calls for assistance on Thursday.