HEAVY rain and hailstones have smashed NSW — sending washing machines tumbling down a busy street. The worst is still coming.
HEAVY rain and hailstones have smashed northern NSW — tearing the roof off a library and bringing down trees and powerlines in the Hunter Valley — with more wet weather predicted for Sydney later today.
Thunderstorms have lashed NSW, with 150mm of rain forecast to cause flash flooding as a low pressure system wreaks havoc over Sydney and even bring snow to Perisher.
Residents in Appin posted video of hail in the town’s high street while snow has been falling at Perisher since early morning.
The roof of a community library in Kurri Kurri, in the Hunter Valley, collapsed due to the wild weather.
NSW Fire and Rescue crews have been on the scene in Lang St since about 2pm.
Emergency services initially feared several people were trapped inside the damaged building, but gave the all clear about 3pm.
Two people were treated for minor injuries and taken to Maitland Hospital.
"Two minutes of carnage" in #kurrikurri @dailytelegraph pic.twitter.com/318ORqRgJh
— Nick Hansen (@nickhansen86) November 6, 2017
Trees have also been brought down in Kurri, with locals saying Lang St is “devastated”, with “washing machines flying down the road”.
“Washing machines and dryers from the second hand shop got picked up and have been flying down the road with the storm,” local Cheryl Baker said.
“Half of the roof has collapsed on the library, there are trees down on cars and it is raining really heavy.
“The lightning struck the pub and there is now a hole in the roof of the pub. The library roof that has collapsed has also fallen onto the power lines over the Centrelink building too.
“We’ve got no electricity at all, we had some flooding in our shop but have cleaned that up.”
Residents have reported downed trees and powerlines and photos from the town show several damaged buildings and cars in the wake of the storm.
“I spent 10 years at sea and I’ve never seen anything like it. There were hailstones coming in under the doors. You could barely see out the window,” Mark Roberts said.
State Emergency Service spokeswoman Sue Pritchard said there has been 70 call outs in the Kurri Kurri area, with extra crews on their way.
“The library has lost part of its roof, there have also been roofs off houses in the area. We have teams in the field now and those teams will be working well into the evening dealing with the storm,” she said.
The council library has lost its roof, the Kurri Kurri Hotel’s roof has a gaping hole in it, the ambulance training hall is mostly destroyed and trees have come down on the Kurri Kurri Public School.
“My classroom was completely destroyed,” one student said.
“There have also been jobs in Cessnock, but Kurri Kurri has been the worst hit,” the spokeswoman said.
“There are so many jobs but the worst has been roofs of houses, an office block affected, leaking roofs, fences down on driveways and generally quite a lot of damage.”
#GetReady NSW Stay indoors, clear of windows. Stay clear of creeks, drains, causeways, gutters, fallen trees, powerlines & damaged buildings https://t.co/sFOEvKLDB0
— NSW SES (@NSWSES) November 6, 2017
“We are expecting the winds to keep continuing and we are asking people to protect their properties because this is just the start of a few months of the storm season.
Heavy rainfall and damaging winds are also forecast to hit the NSW south coast regions as the weather system builds off the Illawarra region.
Storms will be widespread, with residents from Wollongong, as far south to the Victorian border, advised by the SES to be aware of falling branches and prepare properties.
#SydneyWeather Line of storms near Bathurst moving east, expected in Sydney this afternoon. SatPic/lightning data at https://t.co/6TrTrNZaTt pic.twitter.com/008jGiT5aZ
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) November 6, 2017
Manly Beach has been closed due to the rough weather.
Some areas could receive up to 150mm and there could be flash-flooding, according to the SES.
“Secure loose items, and bring the pets inside,” he advised. Inland areas including the Southern Tablelands and Central West Slopes and Plains may also receive heavy rainfalls,” it said in a statement.
NSW Ambulance is urging pedestrians and motorists to take extra care in the wet, with paramedics already called out to almost 50 crashes since midnight.
Since 1pm, paramedics have attended crashes at Wallsend, Kingswood and Woronora. They have also attended an incident involving a car into tree at Blacktown and a pedestrian hit by a car at Granville.
In the city, up to 30mm of rain is predicted to fall throughout the day with a high chance of a thunderstorm in the afternoon and evening. The maximum temperature is expected to reach 24C.
By 6am, up to 10mm had fallen at Forestville, 9mm at Lucas Heights and 8.2mm at Penrith.
“We have a strong wind warning in place for the Illawarra and the South Coast this afternoon. Sydney hasn’t yet met the criteria for a warning, although it will be windy,” a BoM spokeswoman said.
“There is a low pressure system moving towards the coast from inland New South Wales, that brings with it all sorts of unstable weather.
“It will head out to sea, towards New Zealand, this evening.”
A low pressure trough and an offshore low have sent cool weather over the south-east of Australia resulting in what was one of the coldest November weekends in years.
After shivering through wintery temperatures of 17 on Saturday, Sydneysiders stayed under the blankets yesterday with a top of just 19C in the city and 18C in the west.
For those thinking of heading to Randwick for Melbourne Cup day, here’s some advice. Dress warm. Temperatures are expected to only reach 20C, with showers and winds of up to 40km/h making for some chilling race conditions.
Sydneysiders will have to wait until late next weekend for the warmer weather to arrive with temperatures not expected to get above 23C for the rest of the week.
Online Source News.com.au.
