Wild weather on the east coast of NSW is set to stick around, with potentially severe thunderstorms returning to parts of the east-coast in the afternoon.
Between 50 and 100mm of rain was recorded across coastal areas on Thursday afternoon with especially heavy falls recorded around the Central Coast.
“There is still a bit of moisture in the air today so Sydney can expect a couple of showers and there is also a chance of severe thunderstorms again,” Bureau meteorologist Jonathon How told Today on Friday.
“We won’t see as heavy rainfall as yesterday but today’s storms could produce large hail as well as damaging winds.”
Flash flooding in parts of outer Sydney
Flooding in the Illawarra region has forced trains on the south coast line to be cancelled on Friday morning.
Severe weather moved into the region on early Thursday afternoon with the NSW SES responding to more than 600 calls for help.
“The Illawarra region was one of the hardest hit, with over 350 incidents and 21 rescues from flood water recorded since midnight,” the SES said.
Trains between Kiama and Shellharbour Junction will not run due to flooding on the tracks with limited bus services running to replace trains.
Services headed north towards the Sydney CBD may be less frequent, and trips may take longer than usual between Wollongong and Waterfall.
Passengers are warned to allow plenty of extra travel time and check information displays for service updates.
A video posted to social media on Thursday showed a car floating down floodwaters towards the ocean in Stanwell Park, giving example of the carnage caused south of Sydney.
In the background of the video, voices can be heard exclaiming in shock.
“That car’s going out into the ocean … oh no,” one woman can be heard saying.
NSW SES Southern Zone Deputy Commander Sharon Fox said a number schools were closed, buses cancelled and some roads cancelled making the school pick up a challenge.
Lawrence Hargrave Drive and the M1 Princes Motorway southbound off-ramp have both reopened.
Audley Road remains closed in the Royal National Park due to flooding at Audley Weir.
In Sydney’s north, flash flooding quickly overtook a road near Oxford Falls with SES called to rescue a man trapped inside a 4WD.
The man in his 50s had been stuck inside his car for half an hour as floodwaters rushed beneath his vehicle.
The only thing holding him back from sliding away was a metal fence.
Norfolk Island residents under cyclone warning
Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle developed into a severe Category 3 system on Friday morning.
Norfolk Island residents are being warned the weather system will pass overhead sometime in the next 24 hours bringing significant rainfall, wind gusts and hazardous surf.
Waves of up to 6 metres are possible along the east coast of Queensland and as far south as NSW as the system moves offshore.
A band of wet weather will stretch from the south coast of NSW into the north of the state with isolated afternoon thunderstorms in some areas.
Heatwave threat grows across country
Heatwave warnings will kick in over the weekend including large swathes of Western Australia with areas south of Broome likely to experience extreme heat.
A warning is also in place for northern NSW and crawling up the southeast coast of QLD over the weekend.