Sydney weather: Flash flooding, hail and lightning cause chaos as thunderstorm sweeps across city

A burst of “very dangerous storms” has wrought chaos across Sydney on Monday, with flash flooding, hailstones, damaging winds and lightning sparking urgent warnings for residents to stay indoors.

There are reports that planes have been diverted from landing at Sydney airport and that cars have been washed away in the Inner West suburbs of Glebe and Leichhardt after the thunderstorm hit the city at about midday.

Sydneysiders have captured dramatic footage of the deluge as the Bureau of Meteorology warned heavy rainfall could persist for several hours and that severe thunderstorms could continue to impact communities in central NSW.

The State Emergency Service has warned residents across the Greater Sydney region to stay indoors.

Alerts have also been issued for the Central Tablelands, and Central West, South Coast, Wollondilly and Wingecarribee.

“Thunderstorms are forming on a surface trough in a moist unstable air mass in inland NSW, assisted by an upper trough moving across the state,” the BOM alert states.

“Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding, large hailstones and damaging winds in the warning area over the next several hours.

“Locations which may be affected include Orange, Bathurst, Tamworth, Gunnedah, Narrabri, Walgett, Dubbo, Parkes and Cobar.”

Sydneysiders took to social media to share footage of the drastic change in weather conditions in the space of three hours.

The Bureau of Meteorology reported 45mm of rain fell in just 30 minutes at Fairfield City Farm — about 45km west of the CBD — while North Parramatta saw 36mm of rain in the same time frame.

Locals shared footage from their homes of the rain pouring into thier backyards and into their streets.

One woman in North Richmond took to TikTok to declare “Sydney’s summer is broken”

More to come.