'Crazy' storms lash Sydney with destructive winds leaving trail of damage

Parts of NSW have been battered by destructive storms, with fallen trees damaging cars and trampolines flung into the air.

Strong winds of up to 104km/h were recorded over Sydney Harbour between midday and 1.30pm on Tuesday, with peak gusts also hitting 96km/h in Holsworthy in the city’s southwest and 91km/h in the outer western suburb of Richmond.

But the Bureau of Meteorology warns the storm is not over yet, with a line of destructive storms stretching from Walgett in the state’s northwest across to the Mid North Coast on Tuesday afternoon.

Large hailstones and damaging winds were predicted to hit the Mid North Coast, Hunter, North West Slopes and Plains, Snowy Mountains and parts of the South Coast on Tuesday afternoon, with warnings also in place for the Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands and the Central West Slopes and Plains.

A severe thunderstorm warning is also in place at the Riverina, Upper Western, ACT and Northern Tablelands areas.

A cold front crossing through the state was expected to cause damaging winds over the next several hours after it passed through Sydney.

Power cut to more than 56,000 premises

Ausgrid says the Sydney storm caused a power outage to more than 56,000 homes and businesses.

Shortly after 5pm, the company which owns and operates the electrical networks supplying 1.7 million customers in Sydney, said power had been restored to about 4,000 customers while workers were still trying to safely reconnect power to more than 48,000 customers.

Sydneysiders posted images of hurricane-like conditions around the city, with one describing it as “crazy and scary”.

“Trees literally down in every street,” a resident from the North Shore suburb of Gordon said.

BoM duty forecaster Rebecca Kamitakahara told Yahoo News Australia Sydney would cop gusty winds for the remainder of the afternoon but the threat of a thunderstorm had passed.

She said wind gusts over western NSW also kicked up a lot of dust which could be transported through Sydney on its way to the coast this afternoon, causing red and orange skies.

“There was a brief burst of rain but because the storm was moving so quickly nobody picked up much in the way of rainfall. A few areas had a few millimetres but it just moved too fast,” she said.

The SES has tweeted storms have impacted areas across the east coast of NSW and people commuting home should plan their trips.

Commuters warned to watch for delays

The storms have impacted commuters with those in northern Sydney told to expect delays getting home.

A tree on a track at Gordon caused headaches for passengers on Sydney’s train network as one major line between Gordon and Berowra was temporarily shut down. Meanwhile urgent power repairs at Hornsby affected services on the Central Coast & Newcastle Line.

While services are back up and running as of about 5:30pm, flow on effects are being felt by passengers.

“Due to a tree on the track at Gordon earlier and urgent power supply repairs at Hornsby earlier, the North Shore Line and Western Line services are experiencing delays and may have changed stopping patterns,” Sydney Trains tweeted at 5:40pm

Those heading up to the central coast from Hornsby were forced to content with massive queues as replacement buses were put on.

“Following thunderstorm activity, we have some disruption to some services,” Sydney trains reminded the public. “Please follow your line for updates.”

Earlier in the afternoon, a felled tree was blocking northbound traffic on Mona Vale Road at Pymble.

Lightning strikes spark more NSW bushfires

RFS also reported operations were “in full swing” as it dealt with numerous storm related incidents across Sydney while more than 110 bushfires rage across the state.

It added many of the fires were a result of the lightning from recent storms.

The SES advises people to move cars undercover or away from trees and secure or put away loose items around the house, yard and balcony.

People are urged to stay at least eight metres from fallen powerlines and electric fences.

Computers and appliances should be unplugged and people should avoid using their phones during the storms and stay indoors.

Temperatures are expected to drop to the mid 20s in Sydney for the remainder of the week, but Ms Kamitakahara said the city should brace for more thunderstorms on the weekend as another cold front moves through the state.

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