A wind gust of nearly 200km/h has been recorded in a part of Tasmania this evening, as severe weather continues to hit the state.
The 187km/h gust was recorded on Maatsuyker Island off the state’s south coast at 5:57pm on Saturday.
Another gust of 165km/h was recorded at Low Rocky Point around 20 minutes earlier, while wind gusts of over 100km/h were felt around Devonport this afternoon.
Gusts of 173km/h have since been recorded on the summit of Hobart’s kunanyi/Mt Wellington around 7:20pm, with an apparent temperature of -22 degrees celsius.
Meteorologist Alex Melitsis says the strongest winds are expected across the north and west of the state tonight, with gusts exceeding 125km/h.
“These are really rare. In Tasmania, we’re very used to strong winds at this time of year, but this is quite a rare event,” he said.
“We don’t often see winds this strong.”
Melitsis said most of Tasmania will experience gusts in excess of 110km/h tonight, with areas in the north, west and far south likely to see destructive gusts of over 125km/h.
“The winds have eased a little bit today. However, we are expecting the strongest winds to redevelop later this afternoon and into this evening,” he said.
“So it’s really important that people understand that the winds tonight, particularly in the north and the west, are going to be quite dangerous and rare.”
