Rain bombs? Flash flooding? It’s just summer in Sydney

Heavy rainfalls and wild storms brought flash flooding, washed away cars and closed schools across NSW.

A car is washed up on the rocks at Stanwell Park beach, north of Wollongong, after flash flooding hit the area. Picture: AAP

Heavy rainfalls and wild storms brought flash flooding, washed away cars and closed schools across NSW.

The State Emergency Services on Thursday responded to more than 1000 calls for help from parts of the south coast, Illawarra, Dubbo and metropolitan Sydney areas.

The Illawarra region was the worst hit early in the day, with more than 370 incidents and 21 rescues from floodwater recorded by 3pm on Thursday.

Later, 418 calls for help came from metropolitan Sydney, including 28 flood rescues.

Regional SES Deputy Commander Sharon Fox described the conditions as “very hazardous” and said several schools had been forced to close because of the weather.

Greenwell Point, north of Jervis Bay, received 400mm of rain from 9am on Wednesday to 6pm on Thursday. In the same period, Wollongong had 155mm, Ulla­dulla 158mm, and Sydney Airport 99mm.

A Qantas flight from Melbourne to Sydney was met by fire trucks after a problem with brakes and wild thunderstorms delayed the landing by more than an hour.

Flight QF452 took off from Melbourne at 2.46pm and did not land in Sydney until 5.18pm, finally reaching the gate just before 5.30pm. It’s understood pilots elected to go around Sydney Airport because of the technical issue, which added significant time to the flight. After landing, the Boeing 737 was met by fire and rescue teams as a precaution.

The incident capped off a horror afternoon for travellers in Sydney, with wild weather delaying multiple flights and resulting in about a dozen diversions.

Pedestrians seek shelter as a thunderstorm hits Sydney’s CBD. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

The Bureau of Meteorology’s Miriam Bradbury said the heaviest rains largely missed metropolitan Sydney. “A lot of roads were blocked off because of flash flooding so it’s lucky we saw some lower rainfall totals closer to the CBD,” she said. “Several areas had storms develop on Wednesday afternoon and keep bubbling through Thursday – a lot of rain in a short time.”

“Good news for the central coast and Illawarra, where it was most dramatic, is that the weather is moving north and we should see dry and pretty fine conditions tomorrow,” she said.

Meanwhile, Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle continues its path towards Norfolk Island off the Queensland coast.

It is expected to intensify to a category-3 cyclone on Friday, but the BOM’s senior meteorologist, Felim Hanniffy, said the worst was likely to have died down by the time it hit Norfolk Island on Saturday.