Sydney's commuters and students returning from holidays on Tuesday can expect another wintry battering with a second day of heavy rains and strong winds predicted for the city.
A deep low pressure system off the NSW coast dumped almost 100mm of rain over the city on Monday. Rainfall totals from 9am, the Bureau of Meteorology's standard measure, were also close to 100mm as of 3am. Gosford to the north had similar falls.
Powerful winds, which had added to commuters' misery during the evening, continued to buffet homes through the night. Gusts reached 93 km/h at the airport and 89 km/h on the harbour, and 124km/h at Wattamolla to Sydney's south.
Remarkably, 3978 fans - some wearing wetsuits - braved the elements to watch Cronulla upset reigning premiers South Sydney at Monday night's NRL game at Remondis Stadium.
A massive Sharks thank you to all fans (Bunnies as well) for turning up in incredible weather #WeAreSharks pic.twitter.com/Al6OGTgigQ— Cronulla Sharks FC (@Cronulla_Sharks) April 20, 2015
Sharks officials reportedly asked if "everyone could swim" before players tackled the tempest and their more fancied opponents.
Warnings issued
Overnight, the bureau issued several alerts, including an updated severe weather warning for the Metropolitan, Hunter, Mid-North Coast and Illawarra districts.
"Heavy rainfall across all areas east of the ranges from about Jervis Bay to Taree will be widespread overnight and Tuesday and as rainfall totals build up local flooding is possible," the bureau said. "The heaviest rain for the event is likely to be over the Hunter district and the southern Mid North Coast."
Potential areas of floods include the Paterson and Williams rivers with minor to moderate flooding, and the Colo River, where minor flooding is expected. The heavy rain combined with a high tide also triggered minor flooding at Tempe on the Cooks River, the bureau said.
SES, Fire and Rescue busy
The State Emergency Service responded to about 1500 jobs by 11pm, most of them in the Sydney and Illawarra regions.
Tonight our extraordinary volunteers have been attending to almost 1500 requests for assistance across the state,... http://t.co/x09F7pGuzl— NSW SES (@NSWSES) April 20, 2015
NSW Fire and Rescue were also being kept busy by the lashing wind and rain, reporting 160 weather-related jobs between 4pm and 7pm alone.
The service also diverted resources to regions further north in anticipation of coming demand.
#FRNSW deploying 4 Sydney crews to the #CentralCoast to assist as weather worsens. 3 extra tankers also moved to #northernbeaches.— Fire & Rescue NSW (@FRNSW) April 20, 2015
Earlier in the evening, a large glass window was blown out on Market Street in the heart of Sydney, promptings calls to Fire and Rescue and forcing road closures during peak-hour travel.
Other traffic snarls included long delays on suburban rail lines, while buses were diverted away from the QVB as emergency workers responded to the blown-out window.
Flash floods were also reported in regions from Albion Park to Oxford Falls and Bondi Junction, while fallen trees brought down electricity lines cutting power to 1300 homes and businesses in the Hornsby area.
Some Sydneysiders, meanwhile, took in uninvited guests made homeless by the storm.
Big trees coming down in #SydneyStorm have dislodged some big spiders. #TerreyHills #spider pic.twitter.com/dT84nQ09Vc— Ben Shepherd (@benjoshep) April 20, 2015
Outlook
"This kind of system brings the rainfall in bursts," Peter Zmijewski, a senior forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology, said. "We still expect wet and possibly heavier conditions [on Tuesday]," he said.
Tuesday's wildest weather may be confined more to the coast, with the strongest winds and biggest rainfall shifting up the coast to Newcastle and beyond.
"We should start to see an easing trend [Tuesday] night or early Wednesday," Mr Zmijewski said.
Monday's storm produced gale-force south-easterly winds, bringing very heavy surf that was expected to lead to localised damage and coastal erosion for the metropolitan, Hunter and Illawarra district, with the Mid North Coast likely to experience similarly rough conditions on Tuesday, the bureau said.
"This is going to be our most significant east coast low since spring," Rob Sharpe, a meteorologist with Weatherzone, said.
Rainfall totals may exceed 300 millimetres over the first two days of the week, with the Hunter Valley likely to receive among the heaviest falls.
@702sydney Tree down Herring Rd near corner of Waterloo Rd North Ryde #sydneytraffic #SydneyWeather pic.twitter.com/Jfm2yrN8Cq— James (@HighvoltageArc) April 20, 2015
Sydney's temperatures will track between a narrow range of 15-17 degrees on Tuesday after the city posted its coldest morning of the year on Monday, at 13.6 degrees.
.@Kaubo @smh it's an umbrella graveyard at North Sydney station pic.twitter.com/GCHhSHaAiF— Eliza Jane Berlage (@verbaliza) April 20, 2015
Showers are likely to persist until the weekend although temperatures will start to pick up, with the bureau forecasting a maximum of 25 degrees on Friday.
