If you were woken up by a howling gale last night, you're probably not alone.
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Extreme winds whipped through Ballarat just after midnight, with winds reaching almost 100km/h.
It was a short, sharp burst, but it was more than enough to trigger a wave of emergency callouts in the region.
Wednesday is officially recognised as Wear Orange Wednesday (WOW day), a national day of recognition for SES volunteers.
Throughout the state last night, SES volunteers were kept busy with more than 230 requests for assistance.
There were 21 callouts for assistance from the SES in the Ballarat area, with most of these were relating to fallen trees.
It was far worse in Geelong though, where a powerful storm tore through Waurn Ponds and Mount Duneed about 1am.
The SES received more than 140 requests for assistance, with more than 100 of those for building damage.
Four homes have been declared uninhabitable, with the SES currently assessing about 30 others as the sun rises.
In a five-minute burst around 12.30am, wind gusts reached 98km/h at Ballarat's weather station out at the airport.
At 12.29am, the 'feels like' temperature dropped to a staggering -9.5 degrees, combined with driving rain.
Then, almost as quickly as it arrived, the wind died down almost instantly.
By 1.10am, wind speeds were below 10km/h.
Up until 6.30am, Ballarat received 13.2mm of rain overnight.
Now, it looks as through we are in for a few wet days following a week of pleasant autumn weather.
Showers are forecast to increase on Wednesday, with a top of 12 degrees forecast.
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