Temperatures plunge as southerly hits Sydney, uprooting trees and lifting roofs

Temperatures plunged more than 10 degrees in under an hour in Sydney on Wednesday afternoon as a southerly buster brought winds of 90km/h that uprooted a large tree in Sydney’s north and tore roofs from buildings.

The city sweltered through a hotter than average January day. Highs of 40.3 degrees were recorded at Richmond and 37.6 degrees at Olympic Park.

The southerly buster brought much-needed relief to the metro area and along the coast, the temperature at Sydney Airport dropping from 36 to 24.3 degrees in less than an hour. In the city’s north at Terrey Hills, the temperature plunged from 36.9 to 25.9 degrees.

Meteorologist Angus Hines from the Bureau of Meteorology said winds began to pick up in Sydney around 2pm.

“We’ve just seen those winds really pick up across some of our exposed sites through eastern Sydney, so it’s going to be a breezy afternoon,” Hines said.

Boys hang onto the rocks as strong winds batter the coastline at Ben Buckler Point. Credit: Wolter Peeters

“Much of the Sydney metro area has been well and truly in the mid or upper 30s today … but now we’ve got that southerly going I’m expecting temperatures to fall into the mid-20s.”

A damaging wind warning had been in place for much of Wednesday afternoon.

As of 6.30pm, there had been 106 calls to the SES related to wind damage across Sydney. Sutherland, Bankstown and Ku-ring-gai were the most affected areas.

Most damage was caused by trees coming down on cars and homes, including a large angophora that was uprooted and fell on top of a house in Wahroonga. No one was injured.

Meanwhile, roofs and awnings were ripped from shops and buildings. In Belmore, a large gazebo was lifted onto powerlines.

The southerly arrives at Clovelly Beach after a hot summer day.Credit: Janie Barrett

“The main things the SES is asking people is to prepare their homes by securing and putting away any loose items around the yard and balcony to ensure you’re as prepared as possible for the southerly wind,” SES spokeswoman Stephanie Sullivan said.

Winds are expected to ease by Thursday morning.

Temperatures across Sydney are expected remain in the low to mid-20s for the rest of the week before rising on the weekend.

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