Winds, rain, hail during South Aust storm

South Australia is being hit by one of its biggest storms of 2019 with winds, with the SES responding to at 76 incidents across the state.

Trees have been brought down and widespread minor damage reported as strong winds and heavy rain sweep across South Australia.

Amid warnings the weather system would be one of the worst so far this winter, the State Emergency Service and the Country Fire Service had crews on high alert.

A severe weather warning also remained in place for coastal regions, as winds across the Adelaide Hills gusted close to 90 km/h.

On Kangaroo Island the winds were even stronger.

By late on Wednesday afternoon, the SES had responded to 76 incidents but there were no reports of serious damage.

In one incident a caravan was torn from behind a car at Strathalbyn, south of Adelaide, with debris strewn across a farmer's paddock.

BOM senior forecaster Matt Bass said the worst of the weather front would strike Adelaide late on Wednesday.

"What we're looking at is quite a windy front coming through, one of the most significant fronts we've seen so far this winter," he said.

"There is a risk of damaging winds across a broad area of the state, roughly south of Streaky Bay to Port Pirie to Renmark. This includes the Adelaide metropolitan area."

State Emergency Service chief of staff Trevor Arnold expected driving conditions and outdoor activities to be dangerous.

"We're asking communities to be aware this could cause minor street flooding," he said.

"We're urging motorists to not drive, ride or walk through floodwater and keep clear of creeks and storm drains. And also check your gutters."

The Mt Lofty Ranges, parts of the lower southeast of the state and Kangaroo Island were expected to receive between 15 and 30mm of rainfall on Wednesday, with wet conditions continuing to the end of the week.

Wave heights of more than five metres are expected along exposed southern coasts, which could increase to eight metres by Friday.


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world