The Bureau of Meteorology placed a metro severe thunderstorm warning just after 3pm on Thursday, warning wild weather would reach Bacchus Marsh, the Brisbane Ranges and west of Lara by 4.20pm.

“Severe storms are approaching the Melbourne area from the west,” the alert read.

“They may produce damaging winds and large hail.”

A thunderstorm asthma alert has also been issued for Central Victoria, including Melbourne, with pollen levels rated high to extreme.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Chris Arvier said they were expecting “another active thunderstorm day across Victoria, including the Melbourne area”.

“There is a low pressure trough that is sitting over the state today and that does mean we once again have a risk of thunderstorm activity throughout the afternoon,” he said.

“It’s very humid, it’s very warm and leading to quite unstable conditions.”

Conditions in Melbourne would be “essentially identical” to Wednesday, he warned.

“We can expect the same again with a warm start and humid conditions – then showers and thunderstorms could roll in any time after 2pm,” he said.

“That change will occur most likely after 4pm, with potential severe thunderstorms, damaging winds, hail and heavy rainfall which could lead to flash flooding.”

A warning map issued by the Bureau on Thursday morning showed locations including Geelong, Ballarat, Daylesford and Bacchus Marsh were at the highest risk of storms, with “flash flooding, large hail and damaging winds gusts” possible.

Melbourne, along with most of the state, was given the next highest rating of “severe thunderstorms possible”.

Thursday’s weather is expected to settle down late in the evening, but Mr Arvier said the storms were not unusual for this time of year.

“The storm season for Victoria is late spring to early summer,” he said.

He said the rainfall of Wednesday was “very hit and miss across the city”, with Maribyrnong seeing rainfall totals of more than 40mm while the eastern suburbs recorded just a few millimetres.

“We did see flash flooding with that rain falling in a very short amount of time,” he said.

“We also saw observations large hail through parts of Western Melbourne as well.

“So quite significant thunderstorms, there were strong wind gusts too.”

He said the storms were caused by a tropical air mass, which will continue to impact the weather on Thursday.

The state control centre has also declared a total fire ban in the Mallee for all of Thursday.

It comes after buildings across Melbourne were damaged and roads closed as a wild storm battered the city on Wednesday afternoon.

The State Emergency Service had received more than 230 calls for help by 7.30pm on Wednesday, with most relating to building damage, flash flooding and fallen trees.

The worst impacted suburbs were in the city’s west, including Sunbury, Essendon and Maribyrnong, while the wild conditions caused significant delays on Melbourne’s roads.

Car crashes, flooded routes and extra-cautious driving led to many major traffic jams – with 15km commutes across the city taking up to three hours.

A train also derailed in Maribyrnong about 4.45pm due to the severe conditions.

The weather bureau was forced to update its severe weather warning to include damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall as the slow-moving storm moved across the city.

More than 6000 homes also lost power.

Melbourne Airport recorded a gust of 106km/h while Fawkner Beacon saw 96km/h winds.

The SES advised motorists to pull over if conditions were dangerous and avoid travel if possible.

The SES urged Victorians to be extra careful this season as the state entered its second La Nina summer.

“With catchments wetter and water storages fuller than in 2020 — along with our experience last year — we know Victorians are at increased risk from flooding,” chief operations officer Tim Wiebusch said.

“Please don’t drive through floodwater, it may be the last decision you make.

“Even if you think you know the road, you can’t see the extent to which it has been washed away. It only takes 15cm of floodwater to cause a car to lose traction, which sadly is how most people lose their lives during a flood.”

Major flooding also hit most of Queensland, with a 73-year-old man’s body pulled from a ute trapped in floodwaters near Toowoomba.