A hailstorm has blanketed coastal towns in South Gippsland in white, while heavy rainfall across Victoria has downed trees and caused flash flooding west of Melbourne.

Key points: The Wonthaggi Life Saving Club suffered severe storm damage

The Wonthaggi Life Saving Club suffered severe storm damage The cold front dumped more than 50 millimetres at some towns west of Melbourne

The cold front dumped more than 50 millimetres at some towns west of Melbourne Heavy rainfall near Ballarat and Geelong caused flash flooding on some roads

A cold front has been moving across Victoria from the south-west today, dumping more than 50 millimetres of rain at towns west of the capital city.

At Wonthaggi in south Gippsland, the life-saving club was left "teetering on the edge of a trench" by the deluge that washed away part of its foundation, leading to concerns the whole clubhouse could be washed away by the tide.

Club president Mark Scott said the local area received 125mm of rain and "four-foot piles of hail".

"The deluge of rain down the side of the club has washed away the foundation and our front ramp that goes out on to the ocean," he said.

The Wonthaggi Life Saving Club told members "the devastation is beyond words." ( Facebook: Wonthaggi LSC )

"There is a trench that is probably 25-30 feet deep, it's massive, and we've lost the ramp down in that and now the incoming tide is starting to lick at what's remaining there."

"We've had the SES and everyone here to try and look at what they can do and we've got to try and get some urgent works and stone and try to shore it all up, even sand bags we don't think will save it."

Mr Scott said the rain had also destroyed the playground at the beach.

"The playground equipment has all been devastated, the community's lost the barbeque shelter and this park has just been devastated," he said.

The storm severely damaged the club's foundations. ( Facebook: Wonthaggi LSC )

A short distance away in Cape Paterson, the hailstorm covered the local beaches in white.

"It's a freak storm," Cape Tavern owner Michael Turton told ABC Gippsland.

"The town's buried under three inches of hail!"

Brad Richards took a photo of one of the Cape Paterson beaches and said he had "never seen anything like it".

Residents at Cape Paterson were shocked to find their beaches covered in hail. ( Facebook: Glenn Birt )

"It was like the beach was covered in snow. And on the roads cars were bogged, I was driving past damaged houses. The white on the ground was nearly a foot deep."

The State Emergency Service's Vin Bigham said a storm cell had impacted the Wonthaggi and Bass Coast areas.

"There's been multiple calls for assistance with flash flooding and building damage," Mr Bigham said.

At Falls Creek, in Victoria's Alpine district, there was snow falling almost a month before the official start of the ski season.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 44 seconds 44 s Snow falls in Victoria's ski fields

Heavy rains dumped west of Melbourne

Motorists across Victoria were urged to drive carefully, with large puddles and flash flooding occurring at some roads in the Ballarat area.

By 9:00am, the front had already dropped 59mm at Ben Nevis near Ararat, while the Surf Coast town of Aireys Inlet had received 56mm.

The cities of Ballarat and Geelong had received 44mm and 33mm respectively, Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Richard Carlyon said.

Heavy rains in Ballarat resulted in partial flooding on some roads. ( ABC News: Sue Peacock )

ABC Statewide Drive presenter Nicole Chvastek said water was "cascading" over the road between Dean and Ballarat, washing hazardous dirt and gravel into the path of cars.

Some Melbourne suburbs recorded rainfall of up to 15 millimetres in just 15 minutes.

Houses near Ballarat's Lake Wendouree experienced flash flooding in the street. ( ABC News: Sue Peacock )

Forecasts had predicted 11mm of rain in Melbourne, which would have been enough to deliver the city its wettest day of 2019.

But the city gauge received 7mm of rain before 9:00am and Mr Carlyon said it was unlikely enough rain would fall to make the record before Saturday morning.

Farmers keen for rain

Earlier, Mr Carlyon said it was not unusual to see steady rainfalls at this time of year, but the exceptionally dry start to 2019 would make this "useful rain".

He said about two-thirds of Victoria received 25mm last week but large areas missed much-needed falls.

"Farmers have been waiting, it's been such a dry start to the year," he said.

"Places that missed out last week will hopefully pick up some useful rain this time."

Mr Delamotte said the best of the rainfall for Gippsland would arrive later in the afternoon and evening, when parts of East Gippsland could see falls of around 15-20mm.

However the rest of Gippsland was unlikely to get more than 10mm.