Australia Weather News

Destructive winds and a cold front are sweeping across South Australia as a "rare" tornado warning was issued on Friday morning.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for Adelaide, Mount Lofty Ranges, Eyre and Yorke peninsulas, Flinders, Mid North, Kangaroo Island, Riverland, the South East and parts of West Coast, North East Pastoral and North West Pastoral districts.

It sent out a "rare" tornado warning for Adelaide's northern suburbs and parts of the Adelaide Hills earlier this morning, but has since said "the immediate threat" has passed.

Meteorologist Daniel Sherwin-Simpson told ABC Radio Adelaide some parts of the state had experienced wind gusts in excess of 100 kilometres per hour on Friday morning.

"We have seen some of those severe thunderstorms developed so it is possible that these could result in some tornadoes in areas in that sort of destructive wind area covered by the severe weather warning," he said.

"[Tornadoes are] pretty rare and the warning comes out very rarely because it's only once we have a good guidance that this could happen."

He said the tornado warning was linked to "two particular thunderstorm cells", which have since eased.

The bureau has forecasted damaging winds of 60 to 70kph, reaching peak gusts of 130kph, for Friday.

Senior meteorologist Mark Anolak said there was a slight chance of "snow flurries" in the Mid North, the southern Flinders and in the Adelaide Hills.

He said hail and thunderstorms would accompany heavy rain on Friday, particularly in exposed coastal areas.

On Thursday, meteorologist Jonathan Fischer said "a blast of cold air" caused by an intensifying low-pressure system was expected to move across the state.

"That low is also going to direct quite a powerful cold front across southern parts of South Australia from early Friday morning," he said on Thursday.

"Not only will it be quite a wet day, a cold day, across South Australia — the major concern is damaging, and even locally destructive, winds.

"It's not your standard wintertime cold front — we don't see this type of conditions every week in winter."

State Emergency Service chief of staff David O'Shannessy said residents should secure loose items around their homes and avoid parking under trees.

"If these locally destructive winds are experienced, they absolutely have the capacity to cause significant damage," he said.