A small tornado has torn through a region west of Sydney injuring at least three people, as the Bureau of Meteorology issues warnings for damaging winds, heavy rain and large hail for parts of the state.
At least one home was flattened and power lines snapped when the tornado hit Meadow Flat, between Lithgow and Bathurst on Thursday afternoon.
See the tornado in the video above
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Multiple emergency crews attended the scene, with a witness reporting a resident with a baby had to find shelter.
“It took the house, the roof,” one resident said.
“Everything was just swirling around.”
The Bureau of Meteorology confirmed the tornado.
“There are reports of damage to houses, powerlines and trees around the Clear Creek area, north north-east of Bathurst,” the BoM said in a statement.
“From current reports we have indications of damage over a 25 to 30 kilometre line, running roughly north-west.
“This tornado is part of a larger weather system that the Bureau of Meteorology has been warning about for the past several days that is bringing severe thunderstorms to numerous parts of NSW and the ACT.
“More Warnings are current and more storms are currently occurring across numerous areas, so people need to check their local areas as the situation is volatile.
“New South Wales State Emergency Service and New Wales Police are in attendance and assisting those who’ve been impacted.”
One man at Meadow Flat suffered an injury to his arm and was transported to Orange Hospital in a stable condition, NSW Ambulance said.
A man and woman were also injured at Clear Creek, with the female being taken to Bathurst Hospital in a stable condition after suffering back and neck injuries.
“It’s not every day you get called out to a tornado and this one packed quite a punch,” NSW Ambulance Inspector Meah Ferguson said.
“When we arrived on scene we found extensive damage to the patient’s dwelling and surrounding areas.
“When you look at the kind of damage the tornado caused, it’s lucky the patient escaped with relatively minor injuries.”
Storms peaked
BOM meteorologist Hugh McDowell said widespread rainfall and thunderstorms in inland NSW had peaked on Wednesday and Thursday and the weather front was now moving towards the coast, clearing for a warm and sunny long weekend.
Severe thunderstorms hit numerous locations, with hail up to 5cm in diameter and 85km/h wind gusts recorded in Bourke in the state’s far west.
Walgett in northern NSW saw 60mm of rain - double its monthly average for September - in one day, while Canberra recorded 38mm, or half its September average.
While most communities will only experience showers or rain over the next couple of days, some will see more thunderstorms between now and the weekend, he said.
Friday could bring isolated thunderstorms over central eastern NSW but many locations will be spared storm activity.
“But there will be widespread showers across many parts of the state,” McDowell said.
The BOM said people should monitor for changes in their areas over coming days, with warnings remaining for storms, damaging winds, heavy rain and hail.
Conditions should ease as the trough moves offshore, making for a largely nice long weekend.
“We’re looking at dryer and cooler conditions starting to improve from Saturday.
“Sunday looks mostly dry with temperatures above average - even into the 30s - with quite warm conditions developing and that’s going to continue until Monday and potentially Tuesday,” McDowell said.
Parts of northern NSW will experience increased bushfire risk, as low humidity combines with westerly winds.
Residents in those areas are urged to remain alert for warnings from fire services.
- with AAP
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