Severe thunderstorm: Thousands remain without power after storm batters Perth Hills and Wheatbelt

Thousands of homes remain without power after flash floods, hail and wild winds caused significant damage across Perth’s eastern suburbs and further inland.

The region went from scorching sunshine to torrential rain on Tuesday as the temperature dropped 15C in just 40 minutes in the Perth Hills.

Western Power said electricity was knocked out at 33,000 homes after wind gusts of 100km/h brought down trees and powerlines.

Parts of Great Eastern Highway and other roads quickly turned into rivers.

More than 5000 homes remain without power on Wednesday morning, with Western Power providing a rough time estimate that electricity will be restored by 12pm.

At about 12.30pm on Tuesday, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Lower Chittering and Red Hill.

Hailstones battered the semirural regions, with Brookdale copping just over 44mm of rain within 30 minutes.

Lake Chittering also recorded a whopping 28mm of rain in just half an hour.

The storm reached Brigadoon, Bullsbrook and Gidgegannup by 1.05pm and Ellenbrook, Kalamunda, Midland, Mundaring and Wundowie by 1.35pm.

According to DFES, the most damage has been reported in Mundaring, Pakerville and Stoneville.

The strongest winds for the day were recorded in Cunderdin, at 113km/h at 2.30pm.

Southern Cross and Muresk recorded winds of more than 90km/h.

Main Roads received several calls reporting trees over roads in various locations, including Muchea, Mundaring, Karragullen and Gidgegannup.

The hectic few hours of hail and severe winds left a trail of destruction, with homes damaged in its aftermath.

The storms followed a week of sweltering temperatures, with WA’s early forecast predicting the intense thunderstorm and “large hailstones” to hammer the area.

Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Katherine Schelfhout said the summer storm was not unusual for WA.

“It’s typical for WA to have a trough that sits inland from the west coast or further east, so it’s a typical weather pattern for us,” she said.

“But for a severe storm to be over the Perth hills at this time is less frequent.”

Ms Schelfhout said things had “quietened off” overnight, however, the system would continue to move through the Great Southern and Wheatbelt — further inland and south.

There was at least one positive to the wet mayhem — it helped wet soils in Bindoon and Chittering following an emergency-level fire that ripped through the area over the weekend.