Weather News

High winds batter Wilsons Promontory

The weather station at the Wilsons Promontory lighthouse is taking a battering in high winds today.

The temperature at the Prom this morning was about 7 degrees Celsius, but winds of 148 kilometres an hour brought the apparent temperature down to minus 19C.

There is a severe weather warning for damaging winds for the Central, West and South Gippsland and the East Gippsland forecast districts.

Damaging winds averaging 40 to 60kph are forecast with peak gusts of 100kph in elevated and exposed areas in Gippsland and in eastern parts of the Central district.

The Bureau of Meteorology says a cold front has cleared clear Bass Strait leaving a squally south-westerly flow in its wake.

The cold snap brought a dusting of snow to Mount Dandenong.

Kellie Joyce works at a local restaurant and says the snow has attracted carloads of visitors.

"Everybody gets excited and they all come up," she said.

"People start piling up in their cars with their kids and start looking around, come in for some hot chocolates and have a look at the snow that's falling down. So it's just beautiful."


- ABC

© ABC 2012

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