A cool change has helped firefighters get dangerous bushfires threatening Victorian towns under control.
Homes in Kyneton were in danger on Wednesday afternoon, while communities in Victoria's west were also under threat.
Torrential rain pummelled Melbourne, but it was a cool change that brought firefighters some relief in regional areas.
The wind change eased fire conditions around Kyneton, north of Melbourne, which had been under threat from two blazes.
Earlier, emergency warnings told residents they were in danger and had to protect themselves.
"It is too late to leave. The safest option is to take shelter indoors immediately," the Kyneton warning said on Wednesday afternoon.
The emergency warning was downgraded to a watch and act alert later in the evening.
Out-of-control fires near the South Australian border forced emergency warnings to be issued for communities at Mitre, Nurcoung, Gymbowen, Winiam, Winiam East, Minimay and Booroopki.
The fire warnings were downgraded on Wednesday night as conditions eased.
While fires burnt north of Melbourne, the city's southeast suffered flash flooding and wind damage from a thunderstorm.
The SES had more than 350 calls for help in the afternoon, while 14 skydivers had lucky escapes when the storm brought them out of the sky.
A SES spokeswoman said Knox, Maroondah and Whitehorse in Melbourne's suffered the brunt of the storm.
"We've had 246 calls for trees down in those areas, and 118 for building damage," she told AAP on Wednesday afternoon.
"It seems like the damage has been really isolated, and we're only got three units that are really working hard."
The Bureau of Meteorology says Victoria and SA can expect rain on Thursday and Friday, with the chance of heavier falls through the weekend.
Up to 30mm is forecast to fall across the southeast of the country on Thursday.
"The good news is that there will be some relief in terms of rainfall and, I guess, a lot of communities will be grateful to get that rainfall after what's been a pretty dry few months," BOM senior forecaster Craig Burke said.
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