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Oodnadatta locals are without power and are dealing with the clean-up after winds of almost 140 kilometres per hour tore through the South Australian outback town yesterday.
Key points:
- Oodnadatta holds the record for Australia's hottest temperature
- Wind up to 139 kph damaged buildings and power lines in the town
- More wind and snow is forecast for South Australia's north
Gusts of up to 139 kph were recorded from 3:07pm to 3:14pm in Oodnadatta yesterday and more wild weather is expected in South Australia tonight and tomorrow.
The wind was just below the record for the town, which is more well known for recording Australia's hottest ever temperature — 50.7 degrees Celsius in 1960.
It was 36C before the wind tore through and 22C after yesterday.
Pink Roadhouse owner Peter Moore said he had never seen anything like it and its accommodation, laundry and kitchen were badly damaged.
"It was incredible — lifted tin off the roofs, flattened our laundry block, flattened our fencing, it just goes on and on," Mr Moore said.
"The last highest recorded wind velocity was in 1941 at 141 kph; this one was 139.5, so it was very strong.
"The dog cowered under the bed, the staff were in awe, we were gobsmacked, couldn't see a metre in front of you. The rain was so heavy and stingy.
"The power went out straight away; the wind lifted at least two poles out of the ground so we've been off-grid now since 3pm, yesterday afternoon.
"We're lucky to have a generator giving us a bit of Wi-Fi to get phone calls out."
His business and the local health clinic and school have their own generators, but other people in the town after facing several days without electricity.
The road into the town is closed, preventing deliveries getting through.
"We’ll gear up for a big happy hour on Friday night to celebrate getting through the week past," he said.
Wild weather across state
Strong winds were also recorded at Coober Pedy (102 kph), Port Lincoln (100 kph), Roxby Downs (98 kph) and Minlaton (also 98 kph).
A severe weather warning is current for western and central parts of the state, with damaging west-to-south-westerly winds averaging 50 to 65 kph forecast, along with gusts over 90 kph.
The windy weather is expected to contract to the west coast overnight and ease altogether by early Tuesday morning.
Showers and possible small hail are predicted for southern parts of the state on Tuesday, along with snow flurries in areas of the Mid North and Flinders Ranges above 900 metres.