Warning as strong winds hammer city with severe weather alerts
Sydney faces intense winds and rain, prompting evacuations and widespread warnings
Sydney, Australia, Strong Winds, Rain, Flood Warnings, Severe Weather
Sydney: The city is dealing with some wild weather right now. Strong winds and rain have been hitting hard, making it a tough start to the day for many.
It’s been days of rough conditions, with storms causing trees to fall and flood warnings popping up everywhere. The forecast shows more rain and strong winds for the next couple of days.
Warnings are still in effect for northern New South Wales, and the surf conditions are looking pretty dangerous down in Sydney and further south.
Over at the Ferndale Caravan Park near Newcastle, folks were told to evacuate as the Williams River started to flood due to heavy flows from the Chichester Dam.
Emergency services have been busy, responding to thousands of calls for help overnight. There were some pretty dramatic incidents, like two people getting trapped under a fallen tree in Hyde Park.
But there’s a bit of good news: the low pressure system causing all this chaos is expected to move away from the coast soon.
As of Saturday morning, the Bureau of Meteorology has issued 14 different warnings for NSW, including severe weather and flood alerts, though most of the flooding is minor.
According to meteorologist Dean Narramore, the wind and rain warnings are still in place from Coffs Harbour down to Sydney. The heavy rain has really hit areas from Coffs Harbour to Newcastle hard over the past few days.
They’ve seen some serious rainfall, with totals reaching up to 250mm in isolated spots. For Newcastle to Sydney and down to Wollongong, it looks like the main concern will be strong winds rather than more rain.
As the low pressure system starts to move away, we should see conditions improve by Saturday afternoon, with just some gusty winds and showers left.
Meanwhile, other parts of Australia, like Queensland and Western Australia, are bracing for heatwaves, with temperatures soaring into the high 30s.
In the north of WA, residents are keeping an eye on a tropical low that could bring storms, but thankfully it’s currently tracking offshore.
There are cyclone warnings in place for parts of WA, and this system could strengthen into a cyclone by Sunday.