Weather News

Storms and damaging winds cross NSW

Thunderstorms and strong winds are ploughing through New South Wales today following the warmest night since March for some centres.

A strong cold front moved into far western New South Wales this morning, bringing thunderstorms and the heaviest rain in more than a month to Broken Hill and Ivanhoe.

Ahead of this system, humid northerly winds made for the warmest night in around five months in the state's North West Slopes and Plains and Hunter districts. Narrabri only dropped to 18 degrees last night and Scone Airport to 17, which is 13 above average for both towns.

In the state's capital, the mercury failed to drop below 16 degrees, making it Sydney's warmest night since April. Just after midday the city surpassed 29 degrees, making this the warmest winter day in 17 years.

As the front pushes further east through New South Wales today, these northerly winds will continue to strengthen. A severe weather warning for damaging winds has been issued for half of the state.

Of particular risk are the Hunter, Snowy Mountains and Central Tablelands, where winds may reach up to 60 km/h with gusts of up to 100km/h today. As of 11am, winds had already gusted up to 89 km/h in Wollongong.

Thunderstorms are expected to develop over most of the state during the next 12 hours, so keep up to date with the latest warnings at http://www.weatherzone.com.au/warnings.jsp

- Weatherzone

© Weatherzone 2012

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