In the time we’ve lived here, three big trees have keeled over and another would probably follow suit if we released the rope that’s holding it up. It seems that the fire hazard is being reduced by attrition.

Yesterday afternoon the wind gusted with such ferocity that I thought we were going to lose the roof. Torrential rain overflowed the gutters and pelted against the windows. After a flash of lightning and a roll of thunder we turned off the computers.

The roof stayed with us but we lost a large section of a big, old eucalypt. In the tumult of the storm we didn’t even hear it crash to the ground. It brought down a number of smaller trees around it and at least 20 metres of fence.

This wasn’t the only area to be hard hit by wild winds.

There were reports on the news last night of the tragic death of a woman in Maryborough, north-west of here, after she was crushed by a falling tree.

And on the radio news this morning we heard that even wilder weather had ripped through Adelaide. Those winds are tracking to the east so we’re likely to cop some of those, too.

It’s surprisingly warm here for this time of year. It feels strange to shed the layers of the past few weeks in favour of the flimsy clothes we might have worn during Winter in Sydney.

While driving back from town yesterday – just before the storm arrived – we debated whether we’d go for a walk. Seeing some small bits of fallen tree debris on the road, I opined that perhaps it could be a tad dangerous to wander about in such breezy conditions.

I didn’t know the half of it.