Sydney residents received yet another brutal lashing as a catastrophic storm braced the city on Thursday bringing tennis ball sized hail.
Thousands of people ducked for cover as massive hail stones rained down on New South Wales’ capital for the second time in just a week.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for Sydney, Wollongong and the Hunter Valley on Thursday afternoon as a number of storm fronts began to converge on the state.
Giant hail stones and destructive winds were predicted to hit as the storm made its way to Tamworth, Moree, Grafton, Newcastle and the city centre.
⚠️ Detailed #Thunderstorm #Warning for #Sydney. Southern Sydney the greatest risk at the moment. Destructive winds and giant hail possible with a very dangerous storm. See latest warning at https://t.co/YirEXV8NvB and radar https://t.co/oaOZf4Ndv8 pic.twitter.com/T4Y7OGL8iu
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) December 20, 2018
Just hours later the Insurance Council of Australia declared the storm a “catastrophe” with claims flooding in as hail wreaked havoc on the region.
Cars out in the open received excessive damage with windscreens smashed and giant dents in vehicles as over 140 kilometres per hour winds ripped through the city.
Residents struggled to make it home with some public transport halted and numerous flights delayed.
Insurance Council of Australia has just declared a Catastrophe for tonight's #Sydney #hailstorm with a large number of claims already lodged. No figures will be available until tomorrow morning. #insurance #NSW #sydneyweather
— Insurance Council of Australia (@ICAUS) December 20, 2018
Many residents took to social media to share shocking photos and videos of the storm that brought bizarre, cauliflower-shaped hail.
“The Sydney hail is some of the weirdest looking hail I’ve seen,” one person wrote on Twitter along with photos of the hail
“Terrifying, obviously, but so fascinating! Some look like flowers or little tiny planets. And literally five minutes after the giant hail, the weather returned to humid and sweltering. Ah Sydney…”
https://twitter.com/LauraPhenomenon/status/1075636801807671296
Another shared a video of the hail as it hit a trampoline in a backyard, bouncing high into the sky.
“Crazy #hailstorm in Sydney Australia this morning 20th December! Some hail was golf ball sized,” the post read.
Crazy #hailstorm in Sydney Australia this morning 20th December! Some hail was golf ball size! Report: @astrolord #severeweather #Sydneystorms #extremeweather https://t.co/gnKw68EsQR
— WEATHER/ METEO WORLD (@StormchaserUKEU) December 20, 2018
Speaking to Channel Nine’s The Today Show on Friday morning, NSW State Emergency Service Assistant Commissioner Scott Hanckel said there will be a massive clean up after receiving over 3,000 calls at the height of the storm.
“We’ve got about 1,400 jobs across the state at the clean up today across a very wide area,” he explained.
The @NSWSES received 1800 calls for assistance last night during Sydney's worst hailstorm in 20 years. #9Today pic.twitter.com/EGAFFSfsQF
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) December 20, 2018
“Some of the worst I’ve seen in my 20 years, hail up to 8cm diameter in north Sydney, winds over 140 kilometres per hour in some locations.
“Today we’ve got 500 volunteers in the field, 124 teams, supported by all of the other emergency services.”
The storm comes just days after the city was battered with more golf ball sized hail and flash flooding.
Read more: Sydney battered with severe storm bringing golf ball sized hail and flooding
More than 55,000 homes were left in the dark throughout New South Wales’ capital and the central coast as the thunderstorm ravaged the state.
Some parts of Sydney, the Hunter Region and the Blue Mountains experienced damaging winds up to 90 kilometres per hour with trees falling right across the region.
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