Thunderstorms are again possible around the Perth Hills on Thursday afternoon, however these are more likely over areas to the east and about the Wheatbelt, BOM said.
Thunderstorms are again possible around the Perth Hills on Thursday afternoon, however these are more likely over areas to the east and about the Wheatbelt, BOM said.
By Holly Thompson
February 20, 2025 — 8.45am
Thousands of residents and businesses in the Perth Hills have been left without power after a freak storm tore through the area on Wednesday evening, described by those who saw it as a ‘mini tornado’.
Around 6pm, the storm hit bringing with it strong wind, hail and heavy rainfall which uprooted trees and ripped the roofs from homes.
The storm only lasted a few minutes, but there were 60 calls for assistance overnight.
Resident Claude Yong told 9 News Perth he had seen the ceiling of his home collapse and be ripped apart, describing it as “very noisy and scary.”
Amaroo Retreat was one business impacted by the storm. Owner Kirstin Westerman told Radio 6PR the weather had changed rapidly.
“I think best described as a tornado, it just came on out of the blue, went from blue sky to black, intense wind with hail, and the devastation was catastrophic for us unfortunately and our surrounding neighbours,” she said.
“Our restaurant and kitchen, two chalets, our shed, a pool, our water tank has been flattened. We have significant damage and will be closed for a considerable amount of time I think.”
Westerman said she had run up to the restaurant from her home on the property as the storm hit to check on the guests who had been staying, entering the building right as a tree crashed down onto it.
She said it was “extremely lucky” no one was hurt.
Possum Valley Animal Sanctuary owner Mark Hayman said they had lost a number of fences, with trees falling across them, and some water tanks had been destroyed.
None of the 320 animals living at the property were harmed.
“We have quite a dedicated team of volunteers so … we had eight or so that came up just to help us do some assessment and make sure everybody was secure back in their shelters and paddocks and quickly do some repairs to some fences and clear some trees off the main road so people could get in and out.” he said.
“We were able to get some sleep last night, comfortable knowing that everybody was safe and secure.”
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Johnathon Howe said residents in suburbs like Gidgegannup, Sawyers Valley, Mount Helena and Wooroloo were faced with significant damage from the storm.
“Those areas to the north-east of Perth were quite heavily affected. Unfortunately, we did see quite a bit of damage to property as well,” he said.
“We did have reports of tornados and tornado-like damage across the region, so the Bureau staff will be doing a full assessment today looking at the radar as well as doing a damage assessment to determine whether or not it was a tornado.
“The highest wind gust we did see at observation stations were between 80 to 90 kilometres per hour, but it is likely that in these localised areas those wind speeds were much greater than that to cause this damage.”
Howe said there was still the chance of thunderstorms across Thursday, mostly to the east of the city and out to the central Wheatbelt, where damaging winds and heavy rainfall could hit next.
Department of Fire and Emergency Services metropolitan operations assistant commissioner Danny Mosconi said it was “quite an unusual event.”
“My understanding is these types of events happen about five times a year across the southwest land division,” he said.
“We might not have had the rotation type of movement that a tornado has, but certainly unusual event.”
Western Power has said power supply to around 8300 homes and businesses was still impacted on Thursday morning, down from the peak of 12,200.
They said damaging and destructive wind had thrown debris, including tree branches, into the network damaging equipment and bringing down powerlines.
“There are still 90 hazards for crews to attend to this morning, with reports of more than 150 wires down in the Hills area, and about 15 wires down in the Muchea, Bindoon area,” a statement read.
“Given the high number of hazards, our crews are responding to risks and making safe before they undertake repairs and restore power. Additional crews are being deployed this morning to support this work.”
“Due to the damage and large number of faults, some customers may be without power for an extended period of time.”
The current estimated restoration time is 8pm, but Western Power has said additional damage may be found which could impact restoration times further.
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Holly Thompson is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in education.Connect via Twitter or email.