Wild storms on Sunday caused widespread blackouts across the state, and left about 36,000 homes without power, but they're merely a foretaste of what's to come.

Strong, gusty winds are tipped to batter Melbourne on Tuesday afternoon, shortly before a forceful cold front hits the metropolitan area at about 4pm.

The timing of the high winds and storm could play havoc on Melbourne's roads, as the cold front coincides with afternoon peak hour.

The front is expected to hit south-west Victoria at about 10am on Tuesday morning.

Waves of more than seven metres are expected to hit Victoria's west coast overnight on Monday, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The State Emergency Service has warned that the average significant wave height for western Bass Strait would be about 2.8 metres.

At a press conference in the State Emergency Centre on Monday afternoon, experts warned of likely power outages, fallen trees and branches and severe wind gusts, peaking at about 110km/h in the state's Alpine areas.

And they urged Victorians to move motor vehicles under cover, clear their backyards, secure items such as outdoor furniture, umbrellas and trampolines — which can cause substantial damage if blown around in fierce winds.

They also advised motorists to take care on the roads.

Despite the severe conditions, rainfall totals are expected to be minimal, about 2-10 millimetres in southern Victoria.

Melbourne is likely to get between one and five millimetres of rain.

Kevin Parkyn from the Bureau of Meteorology said the bureau had issued a severe weather warning for damaging wind gusts to affect southern and mountain areas of the state on Monday night and Tuesday.

"Conditions are already quite windy across Victoria and the cold front is not yet even within our sights," he said.

"It's not really forecast to reach the south west coast until 10am on Tuesday morning, and the Melbourne area around 4pm."

Mr Parkyn described the cold front as a "typical winter front" that crossed the state, and warned that Victoria would "get several of these over the next few months".

Mr Parkyn said the risk of higher tides and significant waves was higher from Tuesday afternoon and into Wednesday.

"We're particularly concerned about the south-west coast — from Portland all the way down to Cape Otway — [the] Port Phillip area including the lower reaches of the Yarra around Southbank, and also along the eastern side of Port Phillip in particular, and along the Bass Coast down towards Wilsons Promontory, " he said.

John Parker, deputy chief officer of the SES, said the weekend storm activity which hit the state was a reminder that "the storm season is upon us, and that Victorians should prepare for more severe weather over the 24-36 hours coming."

The severe weather expected over the next couple of days comes after a weekend thunderstorm hit Melbourne early on Sunday morning, with the SES receiving more than 1300 requests for assistance on Sunday.

Most calls for help related to building damage and fallen trees.

Mr Parker warned that the predicted strong winds could damage trees that suffered during high winds on the weekend.

"Trees that may have been weakened over the weekend are certainly at risk again, and property could be damaged," he said.

"I ask people to take special care, particularly driving through peak hour tomorrow, around the city.

"We've heard that the strongest of the winds through metropolitan Melbourne will be early afternoon," he said.

Mr Parker also warned that the high winds would be likely to cause more power outages.