One of Perth’s worst storms in decades is heading east to hit other states

Perth has been battered by one of the worst storms in decades, leaving a path of destruction as it heads east to threaten South Australia and other states.

The super system passed from Geraldton to Albany, ripping off roofs, toppling trees, and plunging thousands into darkness.

Stormwater rose as flooding roofs caused ceilings to crash in. Two cars were crushed beneath a fallen tree in Subiaco, trees came crashing down onto homes in Kwinana and in Rockingham even brick walls and fences were pushed over.

“Mother Nature is really cross with us. I don’t know what we’ve done wrong, but there you go,” resident Heather Hall said.

Rottnest Island copped the strongest 113km/h wind gusts in the Perth metro area and Cape Naturalist in the south-west was buffeted by 135km/h gusts.

Monster swells hit 10 metres and carved chunks out of the coastline at Bunbury.

Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson noted the scale of the extreme weather.

“The BOM (Bureau of Meteorology) has confirmed that this is one of the most powerful storm systems that we’ve experienced in a number of decades,” she said.

Four flights were diverted from Perth to Kalgoorlie due to strong winds, forcing passengers to sleep at the airport terminal.

“It’s really foggy, and we get a lot of turbulence, and I’m like, ‘Oh no, like, looks really scary’,” one passenger said.

The clean-up is expected to take days.

South Australia starts to cop it

Hail, dust storms, 100km/h winds and high seas have hit parts of SA after battering WA, as the wild weather sweeps across the nations’ south.

After power outages in WA over the weekend, thousands in South Australia were also been cut off from power on the first day of winter.

Adelaide and a large swathe of the rest of the state is under severe weather warnings, with locals urged to prepare for damaging winds and heavy rain.

Abnormally high tides are expected with hail and dust storms already lashing the regions.

A storm surge advisory had been issued for Middle Beach north of Adelaide, with warnings for flooding that could cut off the community.

The SES warned anyone not already prepared could now be too late.

They’ve been called in to clear streets including in Birkenhead in Adelaide with some trees crushing cars.

“For some areas it may already be too late to prepare particularly if your area is already being impacted by those winds,” SES chief of staff Robert Charlton said.

In the Adelaide Hills hail pummeled Kanmantoo. A dust storm hit Port Pirie in the mid north.

Experts warn all the state’s coastline will be hit, with the windy and stormy weather lasting into Wednesday.

The temperature in Adelaide sat at about 18 degrees after lunch but the wind chill factor made it feel much colder.

“It’s definitely going to bring in winter weather, a lot of cool air behind it,” Daniel Sherwin-Simpson from the Bureau of Meteorology said.

“It’s definitely going to bring in winter weather, a lot of cool air behind it. You’ll certainly feel the change.”

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Storm pummels Western Australia with warning of weather to intensify

Multiple states to get taste of winter

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued severe weather warnings for each southern state, with multiple regions set to be impacted.

“Wet and windy weather will spread over southern and southeastern Australia during the next few days, impacting parts of SA, Victoria, Tasmania, NSW and the ACT,” Weatherzone’s Ben Domensino said.

“Damaging wind gusts are likely to affect parts of SA and Victoria on Monday, possibly including Adelaide and areas near Melbourne. 

“Damaging winds are also likely to spread into parts of NSW from Tuesday, most likely about the southern and central ranges.”

This includes the alpine regions of New South Wales, which could face wind gusts of 125km/h from tomorrow morning, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Blizzard conditions are also possible for areas above 1900 metres.

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Parts of the Blue Mountains, including tourist hotspot Katoomba, could see winds of 60km/h, with gusts reaching up to 90km/h.

Large swathes of Victoria will also be hit by the extreme winds from early this afternoon, including Bacchus Marsh and Yarra Glen just outside Melbourne.

The Bureau of Meteorology warns the northern fringes of the city could also be impacted by the massive winds.

Rainfall could hit 100mm this week in some parts of Australia, especially in NSW and Victoria.

Domensino warns the impacts could be severe.

“There may be enough rain to cause flooding in parts of Victoria and southern NSW this week, particularly in areas of the ranges that have potential for accumulated totals above 100mm,” he said.

The State Emergency Service has urged residents in all states to move cars undercover or away from trees, to secure loose items around houses, and to keep at least eight metres away from fallen powerlines.

Western Australia is continuing to deal with the fallout, with about 30,000 homes without power after the state was smashed over the weekend.

Western Power claims 95 per cent of the electricity network is connected to the grid, but said there are 303 outages across the state at around midday today.