BALLARAT'S SES volunteers spent the weekend out in the elements responding to calls for assistance as damaging winds and heavy rainfall hit the region.

The volunteers had responded to 56 calls for assistance by Sunday morning, ranging from leaking roofs to trees brought down by the wind and lying across roads.

A more severe incident in Black Hill saw a garage roof collapse on to a car.

Deputy Controller of Operations in the Ballarat region, John Maggi, said the unit of 87 volunteers had been active from Saturday all through the night and was still cleaning up on Sunday.

Across the mid west region, 33 calls were made regarding fallen trees, 15 for building damage and seven in regards to flooding.

One of the worst hit areas was Delacombe, with 10 calls for assistance dialled in to the SES, which was being supported by Powercor, Central Highlands Water and City of Ballarat.

Mr Maggi urged people to prepare for wild weather such as what was seen at the weekend by being responsible for their own properties, cleaning gutters, making sure trees are well trimmed and that everything is well secured, such as trampolines.

By 9am Sunday, 25.4 millimetres of rain had fallen in a 24 hour period.

Earlier:

Ballarat SES crews spent a frantic day on Saturday responding to calls for help as a cold front dumped 40mm of rain on the city.

Most were calls for leaking roofs and trees down with some more severe damage including a garage roof that collapsed onto a car in Black Hill.

A squall of wind and rain moved across Ballarat about 3.30pm, dropping more than 4mm of rain in just a few minutes and causing havoc on the roads.

Delacombe was one of the worst hit areas with tree branches falling on to powerlines along Smythes Rd, causing damage to the electrical connections of at least five properties.

Police were called to the scene for safety as Powercor and SES crews were called to remove and repair the damage.

At the same time, tree branches fell on to a car in Jordan Avenue, Delacombe, causing minor damage.

The deluge bought the rainfall total to 22mm since 9am Saturday.

Earlier:

The State Emergency Service (SES) has responded to a number of calls overnight and this morning.

The SES have responded to 15 calls in the mid west region in the past 24 hours, including in Ballarat, Mount Helen and Coomoora.

Volunteers responded to eight calls for assistance in regards to fallen trees, five for building damage, one for flooding and one industrial rescue.

A tree fell causing a traffic hazard in Mount Helen with a similar incident responded to in Coomoora, while the SES responded to an incident of building damage in Ballarat.

There has also been minor flooding across the region as rain continues to fall.

Earlier:

A severe weather warning has been issued for Ballarat as strong winds loom ahead of an approaching cold front.

Damaging winds, averaging 60 to 70 km/h with peak gusts of 90 to 100 km/h are expected to develop about elevated areas above 500 metres overnight and during Saturday.

After a week of pleasant winter weather in Ballarat, it was only a matter of time before we came crashing back down to earth and it seems today is the day.

The strong winds are expected to arrive late this evening, before heavy rain arrives on Saturday.

Up to 20mm of rain is forecast for Saturday, with Friday night also expected to be rather wet.

Winds are expected to ease over western parts of the warning area by Saturday afternoon and over central areas by Saturday evening.

The State Emergency Service advises that people should: