Heads up to those of you swanning about the bulk of Victoria today, a thunderstorm asthma warning has been issued for large parts of the state ahead of expected storm activity this evening.
Melbourne allergy sufferers have been having a bloody torrid time of it the past few weeks, with pollen counts reaching some literal eye-watering levels on a number of days leaving hayfever sufferers feeling like they’ve been brutally bashed by the wind.
With high temperatures to start the week and a predicted band of rain to hit from around sundown today, the thunderstorm asthma warning levels have been increased to moderate for vast regions of the state, including throughout the entire city of Melbourne.
Moderate risk of thunderstorm asthma forecast by @VicGovDHHS for parts of Victoria. For more information visit https://t.co/VdbXWR4CHx pic.twitter.com/d2St0G5bVq
— Melbourne Pollen Count and Forecast (@MelbournePollen) November 15, 2017
A freak and unprecedented thunderstorm asthma in November of last year has put left health officials on extreme caution for a repeat event, after last year’s storm resulted in the deaths of nine people and saw Melbourne literally run out of ambulances due to the sheer number of people requiring assistance.
The Bureau of Meteorology forecast calls for a very high chance of showers across the late afternoon and evening, with accompanying storm activity predicted.
Tasmania is also under a thunderstorm asthma warning, with storms currently active over the Hobart region amid high pollen counts and high humidity.
People at-risk of asthma-like symptoms are urged to keep reliever medication handy and avoid direct outdoor exposure to the any storms, including preceding winds.
A cool change is forecast to follow evening rain in Melbourne, with tomorrow’s forecast calling for a maximum of 21 degrees.
