The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds across much of Tasmania at 4.37pm on Friday, with the winds due to develop from early Saturday morning and ease by late Saturday afternoon. The warning covers the Furneaux Islands and parts of the Western, South East, North East, North West Coast, Central North, Central Plateau and Midlands forecast districts.
A sheep graziers warning is also current for the Upper Derwent Valley and South East districts, where cold and windy conditions are a risk to lambs and recently shorn sheep.
Tasmania's flood event is otherwise finishing. The Bureau has put final warnings on both the Mersey and the Meander, the two rivers that reached minor flood earlier in the week. Marine wind warnings remain current for Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales.
In Victoria the picture is split. Warning 17 on the Loddon, issued at 11.15am AEST, has the river falling at the Laanecoorie Reservoir tailwater at 2.73 metres and steady at Appin South at 2.94 metres, but expects renewed rises over the weekend and into next week as a second flood peak arrives. Laanecoorie is likely to stay above its 1.50 metre minor level through Friday and into Saturday, and Appin South above its 2.80 metre minor level for the next few days. The Serpentine Weir gauge was at 3.63 metres and rising.
On the Avoca, warning 14 issued at 1.07pm has Archdale Junction falling at 4.14 metres, Charlton Town steady at 4.31 metres and Quambatook steady at 1.60 metres, with Yawong Weir at 3.70 metres and rising. On the Kiewa, warning 14 issued at 12.43pm has every gauge steady on the 11am observations, with Bandiana at 2.70 metres and expected to reach around its 2.80 metre minor level on Friday afternoon.
The Ovens and King warning is worth reading carefully. Issued at 11am, it puts minor flooding on the King River at Docker Rd Bridge, at around the 3.70 metre minor level, and expects it to hold there into Saturday. There were no current observations available for that gauge, so the height is the Bureau's estimate rather than a reading.
The Murray is the one still going up. Warning 4, issued at 1.56pm, has Barham steady at 5.47 metres against a 5.50 metre minor level, and the Bureau says minor flooding is possible there from overnight Friday into Saturday. Tocumwal, Swan Hill, Wentworth and the Edward River at Deniliquin were all steady. Two Victorian warnings closed on Friday, with finals issued for the Seven Creeks and for the Yea River and Hughes Creek.
Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory have no warnings current. The Bureau will reissue the Ovens and King warning by 11.30am AEST on Saturday, the Avoca by 11am, the Loddon by noon, the Murray by 12.30pm and the Kiewa by 1pm. River heights are published on the Bureau's state warning pages, with road and emergency information at VicEmergency and alert.tas.gov.au.
