Heatwave leads to blackout of 100 traffic lights in Victoria
Temperatures of more than 40C led to a blackout of 100 traffic lights in Melbourne and Geelong as the state is gripped by an extreme heatwave.
“VicRoads would like to alert motorists to widespread power problems affecting some traffic lights throughout Melbourne and Geelong,” a VicRoads spokesperson said.
“Motorists are advised to obey all signage and all road rules.”
About 100 traffic lights in Melbourne and Geelong were not working due to the outages, VicRoads confirmed to Yahoo News.
But power has been restored to some traffic lights and the number is “fluctuating”, the spokesperson said.
The outages come as the temperature soared to 46C at 2.26pm near Melbourne Airport, about 20 kilometres northeast of the CBD, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
Dramatic cool change
A dramatic cool change has swept through Melbourne after residents sweltered through a two-day heatwave.
The change moved through the city centre just after 2pm and caused a massive temperature drop of 12 degrees in seven minutes, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
The peak temperature in the city on Friday was 42C, but the hottest part of the state was Avalon after it hit 45.6.
The cool change first hit Geelong at 1pm with a drop of 44 to 31.
Warning to turn off appliances
Victorians might have to go without dishwashers and other household appliances to take pressure off the power grid.
In Melbourne, thousands spent a hot Thursday night without electricity with about 5800 properties affected by blackouts.
A spokesman for Emergency Management Victoria’s control centre said the cause of the outages was under investigation.
The blackouts came after Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio urged households to ration their non-essential electricity use.
Power is being imported from South Australia to help Victoria cope.
– With AAP
