Possible tornado, tens of thousands left without power as full extent of wild storms is exposed

A tornado has ripped through parts of Melbourne as tens of thousands of homes have been left without power in a major thunderstorm event that has smashed parts of eastern Australia.

Severe thunderstorm fronts crossed parts of south-east Queensland and Victoria on Sunday afternoon, bringing heavy rainfall, damaging winds and large hail.

Homes were left damaged, and trees torn down across the two states, causing major power outages.

In Queensland, over 60,000 homes were left without power, while in Melbourne over 25,000 outages were registered with Powercor.

The SES reported more than 600 calls for assistance on Sunday around western Victoria and Melbourne, with reports of a possible tornado sweeping through parts of the cities western suburbs, leaving multiple homes damaged.

About 35mm of rain fell in Melbourne, with some streets and businesses inundated with floodwaters.

A house was pushed off its stumps in Brisbane’s West End due to wild winds, with up to 100km/h gusts recorded.

“With the big wind gusts that we had last night, it has blown the house onto the construction job,” former contractor Guy Marney told Sunrise.

“Currently, (the house) probably will be demolished. It’s probably no longer salvageable.”

A man in his 20s was left with back injuries after a tree reportedly fell onto his house in Carnegie St in Westlake during the storm.

Centenary High School will remain shut today with multiple trees down, however the school has confirmed the year 12 external exams will still go ahead this afternoon.

Giant hail at over 5cm was recorded in Brisbane, with a tree set on fire in a Morooka backyard after a lightning strike.

Players forced from the field and fans left seeking shelter after the storm struck during a Samoa vs Tonga game at Suncorp Stadium, while storms also halted play in Melbourne during the AFLW finals.

A lightning strike set fire to a two-story house at Templestowe in Melbourne’s north-east, with three people evacuated and a total of 34 firefighters needed to bring the blaze under control.

Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) senior forecaster Miriam Bradbury has earlier said that severe storms in Victoria and Queensland were forecast to bring hazards including damage to property, trees and power lines, along with closures and detours as water or debris moved across roads.

Bradbury said there is a chance for more storms to hit the east coast on Monday.

BOM has also warned of heatwave and bushfire conditions for parts of Queensland, Northern Territory and Northern NSW starting on Monday.

The warm conditions come ahead of a cold front, with damp conditions expected to linger along much of eastern Queensland next week as a low-pressure trough continues to draw in moisture against the coast.

Rain and the possibilities of storms for parts of Victoria on Monday are predicted, before what looks to be a finer day on Tuesday.