Nearly a month’s worth of rain has fallen this afternoon in the central west region of New South Wales as violent thunderstorms pummel the state.
Dubbo, 300km north-west of Sydney, has received 50mm of rain in the past six hours, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
https://twitter.com/BOM_NSW/status/841151130432348161
The deluge falls just 4mm short of the average rainfall for March.
Locals have posted photographs on social media of subsequent flooding in Dubbo’s streets.
https://www.facebook.com/anne.baker.58/videos/10212713759345222/
https://www.facebook.com/michelle.watterson.798/posts/664971843687819
https://www.facebook.com/leighton.burns.528/posts/189399394889842
About 100km away in Mudgee, tennis ball-sized hail stones have knocked tiles off the roof of the local church.
Images obtained by 9NEWS also show felled trees, and significant damage to the façade of a store on Market Street.
Meanwhile, AusGrid has confirmed more than 3,000 properties on the Central Coast have lost power as a result of the severe weather conditions.
https://twitter.com/Ausgrid/status/841161846027517952
https://twitter.com/Ausgrid/status/841171105280806912
A volatile mix of moisture, heat, wind and instability have aligned over the state today, triggering violent thunderstorms.
The setup is so supportive of storms that they were already active over the North West and Central West Slopes and Plains and Northern Tablelands before sunrise. Lightning will strike over New South Wales through the day and continue long after the sun sets tonight.
Inverell's first storm of the day arrived at around 2am and within a few hours, 50mm of rain had reached the gauge. There were reports of hail and frequent lightning amid heavy rain as a storm rolled over Dubbo around 8am.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRj5fq5Ahjz/
At midday today, a severe thunderstorm warning was in place along the slopes and plains from the Queensland border down to about Griffith. A number of storms have already developed in this region today.
The most intense thunderstorms typically occur during the afternoon or early evening after the day's heat has been introduced into the mix. This means that despite the extent of storms already, the worst are yet to form.
Storms are possible over most of the state's tablelands, slopes, ranges today and coastal areas this afternoon and tonight. Any storms that develop have the potential to generate heavy rain, damaging winds and large hail.
Storms are possible in Sydney this afternoon and tonight and any that develop over the Basin could become severe.
Some of today's storms are likely to become supercells, with the greatest risk being over the central and northern slopes this afternoon and early evening. Supercells are the most intense type of thunderstorms and increase the risk of destructive winds, giant hail and flooding.
Unlike a typical thunderstorm day, this outbreak will last through tonight and continue on Tuesday.
Tomorrow's storms will be over the central and northern districts in the morning, before shifting towards the northeast later the day. While Tuesday's storms will be less intense for many areas compared to today, a mix of large hail, damaging winds and heavy rain is likely.
With Weatherzone's Ben Domensino.