Wild weather ‘worse than yesterday’ to lash state

A secondary intense low pressure system from Kangaroo Island will hit mainland about 6pm, in the path of Adelaide Metropolitan, Mount Lofty Ranges, Lower Eyre Peninsula, Eastern Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Flinders, Mid North, Riverland, Murraylands and parts of the West Coast, North West Pastoral and North East Pastoral districts.

SAPOL Commissioner of Police Grant Stevens said wind gusts could reach up to 140 kilometres per hour.

“Most recent up to date forecasts have shown we are likely to be impacted by significant developments in weather with destructive winds, potentially into the wider metropolitan area after travelling through KI,” he said.

“We ask them to leave work, for those who are performing non-essential duties, and return home and after school activities should be cancelled.”

Mr Stevens recommended those who didn't have “non-essential driving activities” to remain off the road.

“There is a strong likelihood that the winds and rain force that we are going to experience could have significant impact across the entire Adelaide and surrounding areas,” he said.

“We are asking the community to be aware that we may see conditions this afternoon and evening potentially as bad, if not worse than yesterday.”

SES Chief Officer Chris Beattie said the wind speeds had not been seen in “broad areas of Adelaide before”.

“Should this event realise, we will stretch our services beyond capacity, and I have had preliminary discussions with Vic and additional resource planning has commenced,” he said.

“The police and SES are working together to ensure public safety, but we ask the community to be proactive in these circumstances,” he said.

The Bureau of Meteorology said flood warnings were current for metropolitan and regional areas.

Water levels in the Angas, Bremer, Light and Wakefield rivers had "risen rapidly in response to rainfall in the past 24 hours", the bureau said in a statement.

Rainfall of 50 to 60 millimetres through the Mount Lofty Ranges, and 60 to 80mm in the Mid North is expected.

“We’ve got quite a serious situation developing,” a BoM representative said.

Sea levels along parts of Spencer Gulf and Gulf St Vincent coastlines are likely to be about one metre higher than the highest tide of the year, particularly in the Spencer Gulf.

The bureau said the Wakefield River at Rhynie was the highest it had been since September 2010 and further rises were expected.