A severe weather warning for damaging and destructive winds has been issued for much of Victoria on Saturday, with the state also expecting unusually warm winter temperatures.
The Bureau of Meteorology said Saturday would be the windiest day so far this winter, with damaging winds of 60 to 70 kilometres per hour expected for many areas including Melbourne, Hamilton, Stawell, Kyneton, Ballarat, Geelong, Wonthaggi and Falls Creek.
Stephen King from the BoM said peak gusts in those areas could reach 100kph.
"Victoria [is] expecting the windiest day this winter," he said.
"We're expecting winds to strengthen early Saturday morning in the western and central districts, and it'll reach the eastern parts of Victoria by early afternoon.
"In alpine areas we're expecting possible destructive winds, so that means winds of up to around 80 to 90kph with gusts up to 130kph."
Winds are expected to ease on Saturday afternoon and into Sunday morning.
Be ready for power outages: SES
Tim Weibusch from the SES said the winds are forecast to be the worst since October last year.
"So our advice, particularly for home owners, is they should take precautions to secure lose items around their home and yard — in particular outdoor settings and trampolines — but also to keep clear of any fallen powerlines and be prepared for localised power outages," he said.
He also said people should move vehicles under cover or away from trees and take extra care driving on alpine roads.
A top of 19 degrees is also forecast, well above average for July, but the winds will mean it won't feel as warm.
"We're expecting 27 degrees in Mildura, which is, if we get it, a record for July," Mr King said.
It's a stark contrast to the start of the month, when Victoria awoke to sub-zero temperatures.
In April, gale-force winds downed trees and damaged buildings, leading to 1,000 calls to the SES for help.
