More rain is forecast after a deadly storm knocked out power and caused heavy falls as crews continued to clean up overnight damage.
Thursday’s storms and rain are expected to be less severe, but people are asked to monitor forecasts and avoid danger.
A man was killed by a fallen tree and thousands of others are without power after heavy rain, wind and lightning lashed part of Australia’s southeast on Wednesday.
The driver, believed to be in his 80s, was killed in Cowra when a thunderstorm ripped through central NSW before settling over Sydney and the coast.
Another four people were injured in Wagga Wagga when high winds ripped the roofs off their demountable huts.
NSW State Emergency Service crews received more than 2250 calls and responded to more than 1800 incidents in the 24 hours to 5am Thursday, mainly due to fallen trees and property damage.
SES Superintendent Dallas Burnes said volunteers were working around 1,100 open jobs on Thursday morning, with more storms and rain forecast around northern parts of the state.
“We are concerned, there are obviously a lot of holidaymakers there… people who are not familiar with these locations could be caught out,” he told ABC TV.
“You could see some really sharp river rises there that you’re not prepared for.”
A burst of thunderstorms lit up the Newcastle sky last night (photo taken between 10:15pm – 11:22pm on The Hill)
More than 200,000 homes in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong were left without power after lightning strikes. Pictured: Lightning at Sydney Airport
Lightning seen from Anzac Memorial Bridge on January 15, 2025 in Newcastle, Australia. The Bureau of Meteorology had warned that the storm
A minor flood watch has been issued for the Orara, Coffs Coast, Bellinger and Kalang, Manning and Gloucester, Myall River, Karuah River, Wollombi Brook and Lower Hunter catchments, and the Paterson and Williams rivers.
Crews worked to restore power to 95,000 customers, with more than 155,000 customers experiencing power outages during the peak of the outages.
Newcastle bore the brunt, with more than 60,000 customers affected, 31,000 in Sydney and 4000 on the Central Coast, according to distributor Ausgrid.
About 40,000 customers had now been reconnected,
Supply to 55,000 customers in the Blue Mountains, western Sydney, the Illawarra region and the south coast was affected; 20,000 have since been restored, Endeavor Energy said.
The heaviest rainfall was on the south coast, where 127mm fell at Eurobodalla and 102mm at Barlows Bay in the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday.
Heavy thunderstorms will combine with a low-pressure weather system, which is expected to bring up to 80mm of rain until Saturday, the Bureau of Meteorology has warned.
The worst of the rain will fall on Friday, with falls of up to 100mm forecast in some areas.