Wild thunderstorms wreak havoc across city, forcing road closures and igniting ‘dozens’ of fires across NSW

This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

A wild storm in Sydney has brought down dozens of trees and cut power to tens of thousands of homes on Tuesday afternoon.

Ausgrid said 47,000 homes were without power as of 2pm, as up to 90km/h winds brought down power lines.

The wild weather swept through the city just after noon, with damage most prominent in the north shore suburbs of Gordon and Pymble, where at least one fallen tree was blocking the Pacific Highway.

Dan Abrahams (@_danabrahams) More scenes of destruction in Gordon. #sydneystorm pic.twitter.com/IyUSqgJadX

Anna Ogg, who lives in the suburb of Willoughby on Sydney’s lower North Shore, said the storm came in incredibly hard and fast.

“The winds were so strong that I backed away from the window because I thought it might blow in. I thought it had the potential to get very nasty very quickly.”

“It didn’t seem to last more than 10 minutes, but it was ferocious,” she said. “There are big trees down across main roads and also electricity wires down. There’s debris across all the streets – leaves, branches.”

“When it first happened there were residents out directing traffic and stopping cars, telling drivers there were power lines down or trees, so they shouldn’t go down there.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Men stop approaching traffic after a tree fell on Penshurst Street, in the Sydney suburb of Willoughby, taking power lines down. Photograph: Anna Ogg

Train services were briefly suspended on Sydney’s north shore line between Hornsby and Gordon due to a tree on the tracks. Services between Hornsby and Berowra remain suspended due to urgent power supply repairs, which is also affecting the Central Coast/Newcastle line between Hornsby and Gosford.

T1 Sydney Trains (@T1SydneyTrains) Services remain suspended between Hornsby and Gordon on the #NorthShoreLine due to a tree blocking the tracks at Gordon.



Crews are on site working to remove the tree and restore services ASAP.



Limited buses continue to replace services. pic.twitter.com/VOpbEphm85

Sydney Buses said some buses and school services were delayed up to 30 minutes through Gordon, Pymble, Macquarie Park and surrounding north west and northern Sydney suburbs due to downed wires, fallen trees and blacked out traffic lights in various locations. A full list of affected routes is available on the Transport NSW website.

Laura Tunstall (@LauraTunstall9) 90 metre high pine tree amongst hundreds of trees down in Gordon after the storm. Branches, leaves and trunks litter the streets @9NewsSyd pic.twitter.com/0qj6XTkal1

Chris Bevan (@swgn) A bit sketchy in Gordon at 1pm today #sydneystorm pic.twitter.com/3uUhsuNIlQ

Residents told local radio tin roofs were being pulled off houses by the wind. Social media users posted pictures of trees and power lines blocking roads in Davidson and Belrose, as well as further south in Bondi.

Laura Tunstall (@LauraTunstall9) It actually looks like some kind of mini cyclone hit Sydney’s north shore. Trees down in almost every street of Pymble and Gordon @9NewsSyd pic.twitter.com/3OQtAve8Gz

Syd Cove Oyster Bar (@scoysterbar) When it rains it pours #sydneystorm @abcsydney pic.twitter.com/GFSx0tznNg

Nine News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) Wow! Look at some of the images coming into our newsroom of the destruction the #SydneyStorm has left. #9News pic.twitter.com/OTkFTsLqrv

In the west and south-west, 90km/h gusts were observed at Holsworthy and Horsley Park.

Earlier, Sydney residents had woken to a morning of smoky skies and “hazardous” air quality conditions. By noon, temperatures hit a maximum of 35C before the storm ripped through.

Across the state, the thunderstorms also ignited “dozens” of fires, according to Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons. As of 1pm there were 93 fires burning across the state, up from 67 at 9am.

Shane Fitzsimmons (@RFSCommissioner) Thunderstorm activity this week has resulted in some welcome, localised rainfall.

Unfortunately, we're also seeing dozens of new fires from lightning.

Stay alert and informed, be ready to act in line with your plan.

Now we have 93 fires, with 53 not contained. #NSWRFS pic.twitter.com/KAA01ztvou

The strong winds from the storm also led to severe fire danger conditions being declared in the Greater Hunter.