Severe storms batter Western Australia's interior, leaving 15,000 without power

Severe storms have swept across Western Australia's remote interior, leaving about 15,000 homes and businesses without electricity and bringing hail, rain and dust across a wide stretch of the state. The affected areas include the Midwest, Wheatbelt and Goldfields, with communities around Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Merredin and Kondinin among those hit by outages. In Mount Magnet, an intense hailstorm left the ground looking white, prompting comparisons with snowfall in a region more familiar with red earth and dry conditions.

The disruption has been linked to a fault in a 600-kilometre feeder line supplying the region, according to the information provided by the state weather service. Storms began in the Midwest, Pilbara and Goldfields late the previous day and have affected communities across thousands of kilometres. The weather service says storms are expected to continue across parts of Western Australia over the coming days, suggesting the impact may not be over yet.

The power outage is significant because it has affected a large number of homes and businesses across sparsely populated but geographically vast parts of the state. Remote communities often depend on long transmission lines, which can be vulnerable when severe weather moves through. The combination of hail, rain and dust also adds to the disruption for residents, travellers and farmers already dealing with changing conditions.

The storm system has also affected agricultural activity. In Ogilvie, about 60 kilometres from Geraldton, around 16 millimetres of rain fell, bringing harvest work to a halt for some farmers. One grower said he still had about two weeks of work left on his property, while others in the area reported very different rainfall totals.

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The uneven pattern of rain highlights how localised weather impacts can be across Western Australia's interior. Witness accounts from near Mount Magnet describe how quickly conditions changed as the hail arrived. One station caretaker said the hail covered the ground so completely that it looked like a white Christmas, and that trees had been stripped by the storm.

After the hail passed, a dust storm followed as she drove into Mount Magnet, leaving debris and branches on the road. Those accounts underline the intensity of the weather in a region where such scenes are unusual. What remains unclear is how long repairs to the feeder line will take and when power will be fully restored to the affected towns and surrounding communities.

It is also not yet clear whether further storms will cause additional outages or damage as the weather system continues. The next key development will be whether the forecast storms ease or extend the disruption across Western Australia's interior.

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