Sydney to be lashed with wild weather
Batten down the hatches Sydney — a “hectic” storm set to smash the state could cause flash flooding in the city on Wednesday.
Batten down the hatches Sydney — a “hectic” storm set to smash the state could cause flash flooding in the city on Wednesday.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a flood watch and severe weather warning as a big cold front bears down on coastal areas from the west bringing with it heavy falls and strong winds.
Sydney could receive up to 100mm of rain in “wet and wild” conditions from Wednesday morning onwards, duty forecaster Anita Pyne warned.
“It’s going to be wet for everyone,” she said.
“The heavy rainfall will be localised. If it’s in low-lying areas and they get a big dump or in some of the rivers it could lead to flash flooding.
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“With this big winds will whip up hazardous surf conditions. It’s going to be pretty hectic.”
Ms Pyne said the heaviest falls would likely be over the Sydney and Illawarra regions, but the northern part of the South Coast, Central Coast and Blue Mountains could also be smashed.
NSW SES spokesman Phil Campbell said crews were expecting flash flooding in Sydney’s metropolitan area.
“It will cause a number of issues, there will be flash flooding and that will be a concern for us because we will have people driving into flood waters either by accident or design,” he said.
“We’re expecting a significant number of flood rescues.”
Mr Campbell said rivers could swell in western Sydney and present further danger on Thursday.
“We’re also going to have riverine flooding,” he said.
“Low-lying bridges (across western Sydney) and the Sackville and Wisemans ferries — those could potentially be affected on Thursday.”
Sydney waterways that could be affected include the Parramatta, Nepean, Hawkesbury, Georges and Woronora rivers.
Gale warnings have also been issued for the city’s closed and coastal waters.
The majority of the storm will be over in a six to 12-hour period before it moves offshore and conditions begin to clear on Wednesday night.
Sydney and the Illawarra are predicted to receive up to 100 millimetres of rain but localised totals in the “bulls eye” of the storm could exceed 200mm, Ms Pyne said.
Ms Pyne urged motorists to avoid driving into floodwaters.
“If it’s flooded – forget it,” she said.
“In terms of flash flooding, that really depends on where the bulls eye of this system hits.
“The big falls will be associated with the centre of this system. Our models are painting a few different scenarios, but they’re all around the Sydney and Illawarra regions.”
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