Mellissa Mackellar, 17 Aug 2013, 3:47 AM UTC
Powerful winds blast SA and VIC
Southern parts of SA and VIC are copping a beating this weekend as a series of cold fronts blast the nation's southeast with powerful winds.
On Friday morning the wild winds blew into SA, with northerlies reaching 106km/h at Cape Willoughby. Throughout the afternoon it remained very blustery, with northwesterlies peaking over 80km/h across the Mt Lofty Ranges and at Adelaide Airport.
In VIC the strongest winds came later. During the afternoon the South West saw 102km/h at Colac and 80km/h at Cape Otway, but things really kicked off in the Central District after dusk, with locals battening down the hatches and enduring a wild night.
Some notable wind gusts were 105km/h at Fawkner Beacon on Port Phillip Bay and 96km/h at St Kilda. Meanwhile, winds exceeded 80km/h at Essendon, Avalon and Rhyll, and 90km/h at Moorabbin and Ballarat.
The wild weather led to hundreds of calls for assistance, with fallen trees and debris adding to the damaging from what has been an extremely windy week.
By Saturday morning there had only been a slight reprieve, as winds continued to reach 80km/h at Kangaroo Island, the Mt Lofty Ranges and in VIC's South West.
And if that wasn't enough, wind-swept locals can expect the pummelling to continue as a low over the Southern Ocean delivers a series of cold fronts over the coming days.
The next peak in winds will arrive on Sunday, bringing potential wind gusts of over 100km/h. Severe weather warnings for damaging winds are in place for all of SA's coastal districts, and for much of VIC.
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