Victorians have hunkered down for a night of wind and rain as the weather bureau issued a severe weather warning for much of the state on Sunday night.

The high country was forecast to feel the full brunt of storms sweeping the state, with the possibility of overnight gusts reaching 120km/h and up to 50 millimetres of rain.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Dean Stewart said many alpine areas could receive falls of between 20 to 30 millimetres and gusts of between 80km/h and 90km/h.

By 6.30pm lightning strikes were flickering around Melbourne. But Mr Stewart said the strongest storms would likely sweep through Melbourne close to or just after midnight on Sunday.

He said gusts of up to 100km/h were possible in the capital, as well as much of the state.