Rain, hail sweeps across Sydney as storm season begins
More than 30,000 homes lost power in Sydney’s north as the city was hit with thousands of lighting strikes on Wednesday.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Parts of Sydney were smashed with winter storms on Wednesday night with intense winds, rain and hail lashing the suburbs.
The wild weather slammed NSW with state emergency services responding to 178 calls for help in the state, with 36 of them coming from Sydney.
“Most of the callouts were for storm damages, trees falling onto cars or properties and roof leaks,” a spokesperson from NSW SES said.
“36 of the 53 calls for assistance came from the Sydney metropolitan area.”
Lightning strike tracking website blitzortung recorded thousands of strikes across the greater Sydney region in the 24 hours to 7am Thursday.
There is a thunderstorm outlook today with the northeast of the state and northern rivers region most at risk.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast showers for Sydney during the day.
“There is a chance of showers along the coastal fringe. Light winds becoming south to southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h in the middle of the day then becoming light in the late afternoon,” a spokesperson from BOM said.
“Strong wind warnings are in place for the Coffs Coast, Macquarie Coast, Hunter Coast, Sydney Coast, Illawarra Coast, Batemans Coast and Eden Coast this Friday.”
Sydneysiders will breathe a sigh of relief with conditions expected to ease drastically next week, setting up the city for some perfect spring days.
Thousands of Sydney homes lost power after storm cells swept across much of the city on Wednesday afternoon and evening.
The broad but intense storm system saw 34,000 homes across Hornsby, Wahroonga, Berowra and the Hawkesbury plunged into darknes about 7pm on Wednesday evening, according to power provider Ausgrid.
“Crews are on site and will restore power as soon as it’s safe to do so,” Ausgrid told customers on social media.
By 10pm, Ausgrid’s outage map listed only 67 buildings without power, but the provider has yet to confirm the mass outage has been fixed.
It comes as flights at Sydney Airport were cancelled and a unit block roof set alight by a lightning strike in a sudden start to Sydney’s storm season on Wednesday.
A warm and sunny start to Wednesday, which hit 27.5C at Observatory Hill and 27.8C in Penrith, turned dark by 3pm, with a storm front sweeping in from the west.
The Central Western town of Parkes was hit first, with a burst of hail blanketing the roofs and lawns of houses in town, before Bargo and Mittagong in the Southern Highlands also received small hail.
By 3pm, multiple storm cells had formed on Sydney’s western fringes and swept through the broader Sydney metropolitan area, bringing showers of rain, wild winds and hail.
Up to 10 domestic flights were cancelled and several others delayed after an afternoon storm front bringing lightning, hail and rain swept across the metropolitan area, with conditions deemed too dangerous for airport ground crew to operate.
Passengers were warned to expect delay and check with their airline for information, with further stoppages expected into the night as storm cells passed through.
The storm cells also saw traffic lights go out in the Hornsby area, set a tree on fire in Marrickville and a lightning strike set a unit block roof alight on Maroubra Rd, Maroubra.
Firefighters evacuated the building and quickly extinguished the flames, with no injuries reported.
The State Emergency Service recorded 24 calls for help throughout the afternoon, with the bulk of calls from residents in Bankstown and Penrith due to leaking roofs and fallen branches.
A large storm is currently impacting communities across the Blue Mountain and South Coast areas. Lightning strikes can create new fires, so please report any unattended fires to Triple Zero (000).
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) August 30, 2023
If you require assistance with storm damage, contact the @NSWSESÂ on 132 500. pic.twitter.com/wXjfxZ6sRK
Hail was recorded as far east as Bondi, but Sydney’s western suburbs including Bonnyrigg, Edensor Park, Fairfield and Horseley Park were hit hardest, according to Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Angus Hines.
“There have been thunderstorms across the entirety or majority of Sydney this afternoon, a small but rather intense cell went through the western suburbs,” Mr Hines said.
“Places where the rain has been heaviest are in the west … broadly we are expecting rainfall, thunder, lightning and a potential for hail and damaging winds as the cells move towards the coast throughout the afternoon and evening.”
“As these storms cross through the metropolitan area, there is absolutely still the possibility for hail.”
South Creek in Sydney’s west had the highest recorded rainfall, clocking 31mm, while Fairfield recorded 24mm and Horseley Park 21mm.
“There is a bit of a springtime flavour, with the warm conditions today providing the energy which causes thunderstorms to develop. It is quite early, considering it is August,” Mr Hines said.
“We are seeing broad regions of stormy weather, with lots of thunderstorms forming inland and then pushing on an eastern trajectory towards the ocean.”
While rainfall is expected on Thursday, the majority of storm activity will stay in northeastern NSW and southeast Queensland.
School evacuated after ‘bomb’ threat
An elite school on the Qld-NSW border has been evacuated after a “bomb” threat, causing panicked parents to slam the incident as “not funny, not clever – and not entertainment”.
Batten down: Severe storms lash Sydney, more rain on the way
Dangerous weather conditions are causing chaos in Sydney, with flash-flooding, cars swept away and traffic mayhem. It’s a bleak forecast for most of the state, including heavy rain, damaging wind and hailstones.