Perth and large parts of Western Australia’s south are preparing to batten down the hatches ahead of a severe storm set to pummel the region on the weekend.
Destructive wind gusts of around 125 kilometres an hour and heavy rainfall are expected across the South West land division, beginning on Saturday evening.
Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) forecaster James Ashley described the system as “an unusually strong and intense winter system”.
“Starting from Saturday evening, winds and rainfall will increase significantly around the central west coast, moving southwards and extending eastwards over Sunday and Monday,” he told journalists.
Residents are being warned to prepare for severe weather throughout the weekend. (ABC News: Chris Lewis)
“The system will whip up the ocean with waves reaching up to eight metres offshore.
“That’s likely to cause some beach erosion, particularly around the time of high tides on Sunday and Monday mornings.”
Rainfall of up to 50 millimetres is expected in coastal areas, which will ease as the system moves east, he said.
Steady rain fell on Mount Clarence and Princess Royal Harbour in Albany on Friday, ahead of a severe cold front expected to cross the WA coast. (ABC News: Andrew Chounding)
Mr Ashley urged residents to stay up to date with BOM warnings.
“This winter system is unusually strong. It’s the type of system we don’t see very often in the south-west of WA,” he said.
“It’s likely to be the strongest winter system we see this year and maybe the sort of system we only see every four or five years or so.”
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