‘Insane’: Massive hail stones smash town

Hail stones bigger than golf balls smashed down over NSW on Boxing Day afternoon, with residents taking to social media to show off the “insane” stones.

Michelle Hadley, posting to social media, showed off a photo of her hands cupping big hailstones with the caption “Rutherford”, referring to the small town north of Newcastle in the state’s Hunter Valley.

Responding to Ms Hadley’s post, Caz Hooper posted a photo of a bucketful of hail stones and said her car had been wrecked by the blast of hail.

“So much massive hail in Rutherford,” she said.

“I imagine the insurance companies will be very busy this week! My car is wrecked!”

Brooke Lewins, meanwhile, said she had seen “tennis ball sized” hail in the town.

Videos posted to the Maitland Community Noticeboard page show a wild hailstone storm smashing the area, with stones and sharp winds tearing into cars and streets.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe thunderstorm warning for large hailstones, damaging winds and heavy rainfall for parts of Gosford/Wyong, Sydney, Wollondilly/Wingecarribee, Blue Mountains/Hawkesbury and Greater Wollongong areas at 3.46pm on Tuesday.

“Severe thunderstorms likely to produce large hailstones, damaging winds and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding were detected near Glenorie, Wisemans Ferry and Douglas Park,” the weather gurus said.

“These thunderstorms are moving towards the south to southeast. They are forecast to affect Frenchs Forest, Mona Vale and Terrey Hills by 4.15 pm and Calga, Manly and Umina by 4.45 pm.

“Four to 5cm hailstones were reported in the Rutherford and Maitland area between at 1.30 and 2pm.”

The State Emergency Service advises that people should: move your car under cover or away from trees, secure or put away loose items around your house, yard and balcony and keep at least eight metres away from fallen power lines or objects that may be energised, such as fences.”

NSW SES warned residents on the morning of Boxing Day severe storms were expected to continue throughout the day.

“Volatile weather conditions are expected to continue for the next 24-48 hours,” the SES said.

“Assistant Commissioner Kearns said the NSW SES remains on high alert and is prepared to respond promptly to emerging situations.

“We’re particularly aware at this time of the year a lot of people undertake Christmas travel plans to be with their friends and family, however, we ask the public to be mindful of the ongoing severe weather,” he said.

“Roads may be hazardous due to flash flooding, damage from recent rainfall and fallen debris, and reduced visibility. Travellers are strongly advised to stay informed about current conditions, exercise caution and consider delaying travel if conditions worsen.”

The storm weather lashing eastern Australia has also wiped out one of the country’s most eagerly anticipated sporting events.

Play in the beloved Boxing Day cricket Test match, which this year sees Australia front up against Pakistan, stopped just after 2pm when rain started to pelt down over the Melbourne Cricket Ground, stopping play for several hours.

Spectator Irfan Shakir reckons the “last ball” has been bowled for the day.

“Those clouds have finally opened up. It’s raining quite steadily in Melbourne now, the players are off the field and the full covers are on in their place,” he said.

The storms have also delivered tragedy to families, with two people killed in the wild weather.

More than 100,000 homes in Queensland were plunged into darkness of Christmas Day as powerful storms damaged power poles, in particular on the busy Gold Coast.

The state’s premier, Steven Miles, told the media on Tuesday the storms were so strong that for the first time ever SES reported concrete power poles being taken down.

“It will take days to get all of them repaired. I spoken to the mayors of Logan and Gold Coast, the situation is in hand through their local disaster management,” he said.

Deputy Premier Cameron Dick said the fierce storm “can only be described as a mini cyclone”, with emergency crews working overtime to restore power.

Meanwhile, in Victoria, a 45-year-old man was killed when a tree branch fell on him at a private property at Rusks Rd in Caringal, east of Melbourne, about 9am on Tuesday.

The death is the second in storm related activity on Tuesday after a woman her 50s has died after she was struck by a tree at Helensvale on the Gold Cast.

From Torres Strait to the Gold Coast, the Bureau of Meteorology was again warning Queenslanders by Tuesday afternoon to brace for yet another round of storm weather.

“Isolated severe very dangerous thunderstorms” carrying large hail, damaging winds, and heavy rain were likely to strike southeast of Clermont and Ingham, to the border.

A major flood warning was also issued for the Logan River on Tuesday, with flood waters already spilling over the banks at 8.7m at Beaudesert, at the Scenic Rim region.

Wind gusts of up to 106km whipped through the seaside tourist hotspot late into the evening on Christmas Day, felling trees and sending debris flying through the street.

Power utility company Energex has warned the damage from the wild weather is “catastrophic and widespread” and some customers will likely be without power for days.

“This is an extremely dangerous situation,” the power utility said on Boxing Day morning.

“If you need to be outside, watch for fallen powerlines – report any you see ASAP to 000 or 13 19 62, stay well away and warn others.

“Never, ever assume that a downed powerline is anything other than live and dangerous.”

The powerful storm was captured on video by residents as it moved through the city late into the evening with footage online showing long streaks of lightning in the sky.

Queensland SES said emergency crews were called to more than 220 jobs on Christmas Day, with the majority – 126 reported incidents – being on the Gold Coast.

It comes as much of Australia’s east coast braces for more wild weather after storms and heavy rains caused flash flooding and aeroplane chaos throughout Christmas.

More than 120,000 homes and business were without power at 11.30pm on Monday after 300 powerlines were downed by the storm, according to Energex.

“Already this super cell has packed 140,000 lightning strikes and is still rolling through,” they said. “Without doubt the Gold Coast has been the worst affected.”

Photos posted by the company to social media show multiple powerlines down and trees falling over others.

“Our network has been demolished in some areas: more than 500 sections of powerline are on the deck, and hundreds of poles are seriously damaged or snapped, and at least one high-voltage concrete pole has been snapped,” the company said.

“There’s no easy way to say this, but some customers will not have power for days – we’re looking at catastrophic and widespread damage on the scale of a cyclone.”

“Reports of further severe damage are coming through every minute – until we understand the extent of the repair job, we simply can’t provide estimated restoration time frames.”

One photo posted by the company shows a downed powerline in Beaudesert, about 65km inland from the Gold Coast.

Other photos show widespread and serious damage to properties across Gold Coast suburbs.

In one, a house in Helensvale has caved in from storm, with material collapsing onto a bed.

In another, debris has damaged a property in Runaway Bay.

The storm was ferocious enough to cause a massive crane at Burleigh Heads to buckle.

The Queensland SES said it was working through “hundreds” of jobs on Boxing Day morning after the storm.

“An intense storm that moved through southeast Queensland last night resulted in a number of trees falling onto homes, cars and powerlines, causing significant damage,” the volunteer service stated on Boxing Day.

“While the storms have passed, there’s still a lot of dangers around affected areas including fallen trees and powerlines and drivers are urged to stay off the roads.

“SES and FRS crews are currently working through hundreds of tasks. If you need the SES, download the SES Assistance App and make a request. Always call triple-0 in a life-threatening emergency.”

In Victoria, scores of homes were also still being impacted by power outages in the state’s central and northern regions, including around Sherparton and Echua.

Residents in the state capital shared video online on Tuesday of what they said were long streaks of lightning lighting up the sky during a flight over the city.

Further north, residents in regional NSW braced with renewed threats from flooding, including on the south coast which witnessed “intense” rainfall on Monday.

The Bureau of Meteorology recorded more than 89mm of rain falling in just one hour in the Eurobodalla region, an area popular during the summer for tourists.

Advice-level flood warnings were also in place on Tuesday for swathes of the state’s south, including around the Snowy Mountains and Tumut regions.