‘Bomb cyclone’ continues to lash coastal areas with little midweek reprieve

The NSW coast continues to take a beating from heavy rainfall, damaging winds and destructive winds as the BOM suggests conditions won’t ease until Thursday.

The NSW coast is bracing for destructive weather as a result of a ‘bomb cyclone’. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

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NSW coastal residents are bracing for a ­second day of destructive weather conditions spurred on by a rare “bomb cyclone” after ­southern regions were battered by rainfall that exceeded 100mm in less than 24 hours and winds that surpassed 100km/h.

Heavy rainfall, damaging winds and dangerous coastal conditions are forecast to persist, with the Bureau of Meteorology saying the “vigorous complex low-­pressure system” would move north on Wednesday after rapidly intensifying on Tuesday.

The bureau has severe weather warnings in place for those in metropolitan Sydney, Illawarra and parts of the Mid North Coast, Hunter, South Coast, Northern Rivers and the Central, Southern and Northern Tablelands.

Strong winds of up to 125km/h continue to be pushed on to the coast and rain will remain as a ­second low-pressure system moves around the first one late on Wednesday.

Coastal conditions remain rough and dangerous heading into the middle of the week, with waves reaching in excess of 6m.

The bureau – which confirmed that the low-pressure system met the technical specifications of a “bomb cyclone”, a term pioneered in the US in 1980 – said the wild ­conditions should ease late on Thursday.

Areas south of Wollongong were set to receive the highest falls, with totals potentially exceeding 200mm by Thursday. Already Ulladulla had recorded 166mm by 8.30pm since the deluge began late on Monday, while Kiama had had 133mm.

Northern parts of NSW could be drawn into the wild weather, depending on how long the low-pressure system lingers as it heads towards Queensland.

In Sydney, which was spared the worst of the weather system, there were disruptions to public transport and incoming and outbound flights.

More than 1200 NSW SES ­volunteers responded to almost 900 calls on Tuesday in what was a “particularly challenging afternoon”, an SES spokesperson said.

Units had responded to call-outs for storm damage and leaking roofs and requests for sandbags.

Multiple “stay indoors” warnings were issued by the SES for coastal areas stretching from Jervis Bay to Batemans Bay, and along the Sydney coastline.

SES chief superintendent Andrew Cribb said the system was “enormous”.

“The system stretches … from about the Mid North Coast down to Bega,” Mr Cribb said. “It may seem pretty bad but the terrible thing is the situation is going to worsen over the course of the next 24 hours.”

People were reminded to exercise caution around flood waters.

Warragamba Dam in Sydney’s west was predicted to spill in the coming days, according to ­WaterNSW, which said smaller dams were either already spilling over or were likely to as heavy rainfall persisted.

Commuters were advised to allow for extra travel time as weather conditions worsened. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

Commuters were urged to stay safe and informed and allow for additional travel time as weather conditions intensified.

The Manly-to-Circular Quay ferry had some services cancelled from heavy swells in Sydney Harbour on Tuesday morning.

Fishers and other boat users were urged to stay ashore until conditions eased.

Those hoping to travel overseas had their plans interrupted on Tuesday. Sydney airport operated on a single runway due to strong southwesterly winds, with Airservices Australia meeting overnight to make air traffic management plans for the day ahead.

Qantas, Virgin and Jetstar all confirmed flights on their network on Tuesday were affected by weather conditions, with delays and cancellations throughout the day.

Sydney airport advised travellers to check the status of their flights with their respective airline.