Perth’s south records strongest winds in 35 years in wild storm

Parts of Perth’s south have recorded the strongest wind gusts in 35 years after a storm swept across the city and South West on Wednesday night.

The severe weather brought with it wind gusts up to 117km/h in Jandakot around 7pm, and also cut power to as many as 10,000 homes at its peak.

Bibra Lake resident Marzia Molendi told 9News Perth her street woke to dozens of trees torn down.

“It was very noisy for about five to 10 minutes, very noisy, but because it was quite dark we couldn’t see anything, and then it just stopped,” she said.

“We came out with torches later and it was crazy.”

The SES received 65 calls for assistance. Western Power confirmed a transmission line in Bibra Lake was damaged in the storm, with repairs underway on Thursday morning.

Crews are also working to repair 17 hazards, with nearly 6000 residents in the South West still without power.

“Around 5800 customers across the network are currently affected by storm-related outages. Impacted areas include Dunsborough, Kojonup, Donnybrook, Northcliffe, and Gracetown,” a spokesman said.

“The number of customers affected by the severe storm fluctuated throughout the evening.

“Our priority during storm conditions is to respond to reported hazards to ensure the safety of the community and our crews.”

Nearly 20 millimetres of rain fell on Perth over four hours between 7.30pm and 11.30pm. Nearly 30 millimetres was dumped on Bickley over the same time period.

The wild weather came after the Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning yesterday of a fast-moving cold front that was due to cross the coast around 7pm, bringing with it a quick but damaging storm.

The storm advice remains in place for the metropolitan and South West areas, but has been downgraded.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.