Major storm blankets Melbourne like snow

Hail has blanketed Melbourne like snow as a severe thunderstorm ripped through the
city, forcing the cancellation of major events and damaging dozens of buildings.

Nineteen millimetres of rain bucketed down on the city in less than 18 minutes on
Saturday afternoon, the weather bureau said.
The huge storm cell, which hit at 2.40pm (AEDT), resulted in a total of 26mm of rain
in Melbourne in less an hour, bringing emergency services to a grinding halt as
reports of flooding and storm damage came in from across the city.
Hail pummelled city streets and brought traffic to a standstill, with some residents
reporting hail stones as big as 5cm.
"It was a very dangerous thunderstorm," the bureau's senior forecaster, Richard
Carlyon, said.
"We don't often see storm cells like that."
Southern Cross train station had to be evacuated as heavy rain tore a hole in its
roof and a deluge splashed down on the train platforms.
Train and tram services faced widespread delays as winds peaked at 100km/h.
"This is an extreme weather condition and something Melbourne hasn't experienced for
quite some time," a Yarra Trams spokesman told Fairfax Radio Network as some trams
were left stranded between mini-lakes forming across the tracks.
The storm forced the cancellation of the NAB Cup AFL football game between Brisbane
and Geelong.
In an ironic twist, the game was only rescheduled to Melbourne at the last minute
because of poor weather all week on the Gold Coast, where the match was supposed to
be played.
Flemington's Super Saturday races were also postponed as rain poured down the stairs
at the grandstand like a waterfall.
"It was very dark and all of a sudden it was like a hurricane or a howling wind came
through," said Josh Bell, who was in the members' grandstand when the storm hit.
"Marble-sized hail stones came down for about 10 minutes.
"The track was covered in hail. It was all white. It looked like it had snowed."
The rain continued for about 30 minutes, overpowering the sewerage system and
forcing the water down the grandstand's public stairs.
"The track's just not up to safe racing," Racing Victoria's chief steward Terry
Bailey told the Seven Network after the race was rescheduled to next weekend.
Race horse King Pulse also suffered serious injuries after the hail storm spooked
the horse and it broke free, slipping over twice.
In the city centre, water had flooded some intersections nearly knee-deep. Shopping
centres were cleared out.
"If people don't have urgent business in the CBD then we're advising them to stay
home tonight," a police spokeswoman said.
The Moomba water festival along the Yarra River had to be shut down as well out of
fears of further storms.
The weather bureau is forecasting further storms to strike the city on Saturday
evening.
The State Emergency Service has been swamped with more than 300 calls for help,
primarily from the city's western suburbs.