AMBULANCE Victoria will deploy more staff this weekend as authorities take no chances with any potential asthma threat from thunderstorm forecast heading our way.

Victoria is likely to see more thunderstorms on Sunday and Monday, and while authorities appeared to be playing down the risk that deadly “thunderstorm asthma” will recur, they will also be on heightened alert.

Eight people died and more than 8500 people required care following an outbreak of thunderstorm asthma that hit the state on November 21.

Melbourne’s Sunday maximum will be 32C, with temperatures to hit the mid-to-high 30s in northern Victoria, followed by a cool change later in the evening.

A joint media conference involving senior figures from the Bureau of Meteorology, Department of Health and Human Services, and Ambulance Victoria was held to discuss this weekend’s possible storms.

Ambulance Victoria State Health Commander Paul Holman said extra staff would be rostered on this weekend, including 15 extra road crews.

“On Sunday, we will increase the number of staff working both on the road and in a recall fashion,” he said.

“In the communications centre we will be putting on extra clinicians, referral service and call takers.

“People are naturally concerned, this was an unprecedented event.

“This is really about saying look we’ve learnt some lessons from last week already.

“We’re out there now preparing and looking at what the risks are and then trying to mitigate those risks

“While tragically we lost eight lives, every paramedic feels the loss of those lives, but what we did do on that day also was save hundreds of lives right across the health system.”

When asked if there was a new risk of thunderstorm asthma this weekend, Bureau of Meteorology Victoria regional director Tarini Casinader said Sunday’s conditions were “significantly different” to those that occurred last month.

“The temperatures are forecast to be lower, the winds less strong, and the chance of thunderstorms is less,” she said.

“If thunderstorms do occur, there is a lower chance that they will become severe compared to November 21.

“Thunder storms are a normal part of our climate every year.

“They are more likely to occur in the summer months although they can happen at any time of year.”

media_camera Ominous clouds pass over Melbourne as a storm front thunders through Victoria. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Chief Health Officer Professor Charles Guest described last month’s asthma outbreak as an extremely rare event.

“In the light of events of last week, we are all very much concentrating on this highly unusual event of asthma coming on as a result of a thunder storm,” he said.

“There is so much concern.

“Of course we are remembering the eight deaths that occurred, and eight deaths is eight deaths too many.

“In light of those very sad events, we think it’s just timely to be precautionary.”

The deadly thunderstorm asthma event was the worst recorded in the world.

Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy likened the state’s asthma crisis to “150 bombs going off at once” following the storm.

Ms Hennessy admitted emergency services were not prepared to respond to an extreme weather event of that scale.

BoM senior forecaster Rod Dickson said the thunderstorms would arrive with a cold front that will begin crossing the state on Sunday evening following a hot and humid day.

Melbourne’s Sunday maximum will be 32C, with temperatures to hit the mid-to-high 30s in northern Victoria.

Mr Dickson said the change is expected in Melbourne around midnight and thunderstorms are most likely in the state’s west.

“We’re likely to see a shower or thunderstorm will happen in the afternoon and evening but the most likely period particularly for thunderstorms will be overnight Sunday night and Monday morning.

“(The change is) not particular strong, not in the sense of the one we had with the last hot day when we had quite a hot day, then a big change go through.

“It will drop the temperature back to the low 20s on Monday but it’s pretty much a garden variety change, really.”

Mr Dickson said he was not able to comment on the effect the change may have on pollen, thought to be the cause of the thunderstorm asthma outbreak.

“There’s nothing really out of the ordinary in terms of weather,” he said.

andrew.jefferson@news.com.au

@AndyJeffo