by As the SES cleans up the debris from a freak storm which slammed NSW, authorities are hoping a storm forecast for this afternoon is not as severe as predicted.
Sydney is set for a hot and sunny Friday, but chances of showers could exacerbate the clean-up effort.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has warned of a “possibly severe” thunderstorm in the afternoon and evening, affecting Sydney, the Hunter, Illawarra, and further west in the state.
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BoM meteorologist Jonathan How told Today moisture remains in the air, leading to the forecast.
“We won’t see as heavy rainfall as yesterday but today’s storms could produce large hail as well as damaging winds,” he said.
“We are reminding people to keep an eye on the forecasts through the morning.”
He said Sydney could expect a warm and dry weekend.
NSW SES State Duty Commander Colin Malone said they were hoping for more benign weather.
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“It was a crazy 36 hours,” he said.
“Just as we were thinking about settling down yesterday afternoon … we see Dubbo get a very intense thunderstorm.”
The central NSW town was blanketed in hail, with hundreds of calls for assistance made.
The storm also dumped hailstones the size of golf balls on Orange and Bathurst, further south-east.
Hundreds were left without power when the storm downed power lines.
Most electricity to homes has now been restored.
On the Central Coast, the clean-up effort is underway, after 149mm of rain fell on Erina Heights, much of it in a 15-minute deluge.
But thousands remain without power after the severe thunderstorm caused significant damage to the grid.
Ausgrid has asked those without power to remain patient.
“We know it’s tough to be without power and we apologise for the inconvenience,” a tweet read.
“We are doing everything we can to remove debris, make repairs and safely turn the power back on as soon as possible.”
The utility company urged people to always assume fallen powerlines are live, and stay at least eight metres away from them.
