But then Mitch and Angela Hookham realised the storm's full intensity as branches started falling in their front yard.

The Montague Street couple were watching television at about 8pm Tuesday when a massive storm hit, carrying peak wind gusts of 106km/h.

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"We thought the windows were going to cave in," Mrs Hookham said.

"We came out the front and found a tree on our roof."

They discovered a large gum tree and a palm tree had fallen on to their verandah roof and damaged a front bedroom and wall.

The couple were remaining philosophical as they waited for an arborist.

Over on Verner Street, between Cowper and Faithfull Streets, another large tree had fallen on a house. The full extent of damage was yet to be revealed as council and Essential Energy crews worked around the area. The tree had also fallen on powerlines, leaving 265 residents still without power on Wednesday. An Essential Energy spokeswoman said this would be restored by 9pm Wednesday but hoped it could be earlier, at about 5pm or 6pm.

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The 30-minute windstorm also ripped off two large sections of roofing at Goulburn High School.

"The roof just peeled off and timber beams twisted and snapped. The beams speared through walkways," Argyle SES cluster commander Bob Bell said.

Over the road, on Deccan Street, Brooke Stephens, was sitting in her lounge room when she thought a window had broken.

"I came outside 30 minutes later and realised the shed roof was down," she said.

The roof lifted off, flipped and crashed onto an enclosed entertaining area, damaging the interior. The "devastation" seemed worse in the light of day but Mrs Stephens said there were plenty of people worse off than her. She praised SES crews that immediately responded.

Fallen trees were also strewn through Victoria Park, with one falling on an amenities block. At Marden Weir, another tree had fallen over playground equipment.

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Mr Bell said Goulburn SES had 12 call-outs on Tuesday night and nine on Wednesday morning. Most of these were for fallen trees. Four crews were on duty on Tuesday and three on Wednesday.

"We are pushed on the ground. They are all big jobs and council crews are helping," Mr Bell said.

"We are also trying to get the roof of our (shed) building fixed."

A large section blew off on Tuesday night, breaking beams in the process.

Mr Bell said while there was a likelihood of storms on Tuesday, the SES did not expect such intensity. He urged people to be careful driving around and to advise the SES of fallen trees.

Meantime, 1384 premises in the Goulburn area, including Breadalbane, lost power just after 8pm Tuesday. A total 1260 were restored by 11pm, an Essential Energy spokeswoman said.

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On Wednesday, 360 homes were still without power, thanks in part to major repairs on Verner and Glebe Avenue/Sloane Street where trees had fallen over lines.

Crews were repairing six damaged cross arms and one power pole, with help from Queanbeyan and Braidwood personnel.

Another crew was repairing a fallen power pole on the Goulburn Road near Pejar, which cut power to 32 premises in the area.

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