The freak weather event in November 2016 sparked an unprecedented surge in emergency calls in Victoria.
The November storm kicked up dust and pollen, and the moisture in the air from the humid, hot day burst the pollen into hundreds of tiny allergenic fragments, penetrating deep into victims' airways.
Thousands were taken to hospital. Some family members of those who died have sought answers from health authorities, including questions about ambulance response times.
Health authorities and weather experts will be among those to give evidence at an inquest into the phenomenon.
The inquest will examine what was known about thunderstorm asthma prior to the event and what has been learned since.
It will also look at how prepared Victoria's ambulance services and public hospitals are for a similar event in the future.
The five-day inquest will open before Coroner Paresa Spanos on Monday.
Thunderstorm asthma is a form of asthma triggered by an uncommon combination of high pollen and thunderstorms.
It commonly affects young adults with a history of hay fever but not necessarily of asthma.
