Melbourne’s wettest day in two years traps drivers, with more rain to come

Melbourne recorded its wettest day in over two years after a fierce torrential downpour dumped up to 50 millimetres of rain across the city, triggering pockets of flash flooding and leaving one family trapped in floodwater under a bridge.

The wet weather is expected to continue across the weekend, with experts predicting more than 100 millimetres of rain in some parts of the state over the next few days before conditions ease on Sunday.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the gauge at Melbourne Olympic Park registered 47.8 millimetres on Thursday – the highest single-day total recorded at the site since April 2024.

The worst of the weather hit mid-afternoon, when more than half of the total rainfall fell in just one hour, causing creeks to swell and water to pool deeply beneath bridges.

“Much of that rain fell in a short time during yesterday afternoon, with about 20 to 25 millimetres falling in an hour or so around 3pm,” senior meteorologist David Crock said on Friday morning.

“That caused a lot of water all through the suburbs, some flash flooding in the creeks, and a lot of water under bridges.”

Two cars were found trapped in floodwaters beneath the York Street bridge in South Melbourne on Thursday afternoon. Police rescued occupants in both cars, including a family of four. No injuries were reported by paramedics at the scene. Emergency crews were also called to a canal in Elwood on Thursday, where a truck and van became stuck in floodwaters.

Since midday on Thursday through to 7am on Friday, Victorian State Emergency Service crews answered around 200 calls for help across the state.

SES crews responded to 71 calls for building damage, 52 for flooding and another 45 for reports of fallen trees. A spokeswoman told The Age the area with the highest number of calls was the Melbourne unit, receiving 15 assistance requests. Port Phillip SES received 12 calls.

She warned Victorians to heed the advice of authorities, and to never drive through floodwaters, no matter how shallow they look.

“It only takes 15 centimetres of water for a small car to float,” she said. “Don’t put the lives of the community in danger.”

With catchments already saturated, Crock warned that a low-pressure system moving across the state could bring more than 100 millimetres of rain to parts of central and eastern Victoria before conditions clear late Sunday.

“Some spots in eastern Victoria could see 100 to even 150 millimetres over the next few days,” he said. “So a flood watch is current for many catchments across eastern Victoria.”

Melburnians can expect cooler conditions after a recent warm spell, with daily averages peaking at a maximum of 19 degrees on Saturday, and 16 degrees on Sunday.

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