Victoria's freak weather causes chaos

Tens of thousands of city commuters face long delays getting home as wild weather wreaks havoc on Melbourne's public transport system.

"This is one of the worst episodes we've ever seen," a Connex spokesman said. "It's even worse than other problems we had last year with flooding. It's severe, it's widespread."

Winds of up to 100kmh whipped across Victoria as the remnants of tropical Cyclone Pancho combined with an intense cold front in the Great Australian Bight and moved east.