NSW weather: Flood watch as wild conditions force dozens of schools to close

At least 26 schools will be forced to close due to wild weather amid multiple flood, storm and snow warnings.

Children who attend a host of schools scattered across the NSW mid-north coast, Hunter and central coast have been told to stay home on Monday.

“If a school is closed, it will not be offering supervision to students,” the NSW Department of Education said in a statement on Sunday, noting learning-from-home resources would be made available for students.

The list of schools to be shuttered is available on the department’s website.

Wild weather hammered northern NSW across the weekend after floods and snowstorms stranded cars and cut power to homes.

A search remains under way for a woman swept into floodwaters in NSW’s Hunter region.

Emergency workers were called north of Cessnock on Saturday night after reports a Mini car was grounded due to the floods.

The driver, a 27-year-old woman, managed to get out but the passenger, 26, was dragged away with the strong current.

“We’ve had a number of areas in the Hunter Valley that have been prone to evacuation orders and warnings in relation to floodwaters,” Hunter Valley police superintendent Steve Laksa said.

“I’d just ask the community to take heed of those warnings and do not enter any waterway.”

State Emergency Service crews responding to the emergency saved a 40-year-old man who was stuck in a nearby tree due to floodwater.

The man was swept out of the tree but rescuers followed him into the water and managed to pull him to shore and he was taken to hospital.

Tens of thousands of households in the eastern state spent a night without power as heavy rain, floods and unprecedented snow wreaked havoc.

The NSW SES responded to more than 1455 call-outs related to rain, thunderstorms and snow.

Emergency services issued nine flood watches along with 32 severe weather warnings across NSW for damaging surf winds, coastal erosion and the potential for snow and black ice.

Residents in some parts of Taree on the mid-north coast have been asked to evacuate due to flooding, while warnings are in place for the Peel and Namoi Rivers at Tamworth, Manilla and Gunnedah.

Armidale and Guyra in New England had unprecedented snowfall and SES crews responded to requests for assistance from people in more than 100 stranded cars.

High winds and storms also battered the other side of the country in Western Australia.

Almost 20,000 homes were without power in Perth on Sunday as storms swept through the city.