Australia's eastern states battered by storms with more rain to come
Australia's eastern states have been further battered by storms with Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane all smashed by pelting rain on Tuesday.
Rain and thunderstorms swept over Sydney from the west in the middle of Tuesday afternoon, as a tropical airmass hovered over the state.
Video taken from at Sydney Airport shows cracking lightning strikes that came along with the storm.
The dew point temperature, a measure of how much moisture is in the air, was very high – 22 degrees – making the air feel something similar to Brisbane.
A heavy storm tracked right across the city's northwest and the Northern Beaches before moving out to sea, drenching Richmond in the west with 30 millimetres in only 30 minutes.
A tropical downpour drenched Melbourne too, causing flash flooding in the city and its surrounds.
The rain arrived in Melbourne city at lunchtime and quickly caused some issues on the roads.
The drains in Southbank could not cope and began flooding Clarendon Street.
Cars were forced to turn around as water rose under the York Street Bridge
Some workers on their lunch break came prepared for the wet weather, but others had to use what they could to get some cover from the sudden deluge.
There were similar scenes of carnage around the suburbs with flash flooding from Kew to Brunswick.
In Mulgrave water began spouting through the roof of an IGA supermarket while SES volunteers were put on standby for the evening's downpour.
Drivers were again being warned to never drive through floodwaters and to take it easy on the roads in the evening peak hour.
With the rains battering Brisbane, cars went under and dams were spilling over – thanks to the statewide soaking over the past 24 hours.
Queensland's Central Coast recorded 150 millimetres while Upper Springbrook saw more than 500mm for the week.
The weather bureau has warned Queenslanders to expect more, which is good news for those cities and towns living through water shortages.
In those places, where skies opened, creeks rose and roads closed, nobody was complaining.
A heritage-listed fig tree, 20-30 metres high, toppled over, smashing backyards in Chermside West.
"It's impacted five properties in total by its fall," said resident Danica Wilson.
Residents were planning to trim the tree, but its heritage status caused delays.
Instead they have been left with repair bills.
