Severe weather is leaving a trail of damage across South Australia.

The weather bureau has been forecasting destructive gusts up to 120 kph, as a low pressure system moves east.

Among the areas badly-affected is Coulta, north-west of Port Lincoln on southern Eyre Peninsula.

Residents say a 'mini tornado' appears to have struck.

Marc Kilmartin says he has never seen weather like it, not even when he lived in north Queensland and a cyclone was near.

"It's pretty bad, debris everywhere, massive big limbs," he said.

"The bloke up the end of the road, half his shed's gone."

John Prideaux from the weather bureau's severe weather section says conditions were right for a tornado, but not the summer type people associate with places such as the United States.

"The winter type ones are a bit different," he explained.

The cumulus clouds are nowhere near as big and not as likely to be as damaging or signficant.

"They certainly don't generally last as long - a few seconds up to a few minutes at best type of thing."

Adelaide lashed by gales

The strong winds have brought down trees in Adelaide.

At O'Halloran Hill in the south, a tree has fallen in a backyard narrowly missing a house.

A tree has fallen onto a car at Bridgewater in the Adelaide hills and problems have been reported at Burnside, where trees are resting on powerlines.

There are also reports of damage at Victor Harbor, further south of Adelaide.

Judith Bleechmore from the State Emergency Service says it is likely that stormy weather will continue throughout the night.

"We're looking at high winds as opposed to large quantities of rain," she said.

The weather bureau has raised the prospect of seawater flooding of low-lying areas.

Its warnings say that tides could be up to one metre higher than usual, especially in Spencer Gulf.

The Sealink ferry between Cape Jervis and Kangaroo Island has cancelled services.

Small aircraft have been advised against flying.

Matt Collopy of the weather bureau says there is the potential for more damage in Adelaide during the evening.

"The key time for Adelaide is as the front goes through around 6 or 7 o'clock tonight and probably a few hours either side of there," he said.