Urgent flood warning issued for Australia’s east coast as ‘tornadic supercell’ storm system bears down, bringing huge hailstones and a massive rain bomb – here are the areas most at risk
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Australia’s east coast is gearing up to batten down the hatches with more wild weather on the way, including torrential rain, hail and flooding.
Heavy rainfall has been forecast along the east coast from southern Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and as far as Tasmania on Thursday evening as part of a ‘tornadic supercell system’.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that the wild weather will continue over the weekend, leading to renewed and prolonged flooding.
Thursday’s wild weather has caused chaos in Sydney, with the ceiling of a Coles supermarket in North Sydney on the lower north shore collapsing on a day the city recorded its wettest year on record.
It comes as towns in north-west Victoria are at risk of a ‘tornadic supercell system’.
The Murray River towns of Echuca, Swan Hill and Mildura are at risk and the dangerous weather system could also extend into southern NSW.
‘There is a risk of tornadic supercells, this means large hail, damaging wind gusts and isolated heavy rainfall,’ Sky News meteorologist Alison Osborne said.
‘This storm threat will rapidly diminish by the early hours of (Friday) morning. It will be less intense, but more broad.’
Several flood watches have been issued inland and in the central coastal areas of NSW.
‘From late Friday, the more intense system will bring widespread heavy rain across NSW, particularly the eastern half, including the Western Slope and areas and the central and southern coast.
Renewed river rises and the possibility of flooding are expected with the rain. The northern rivers are not expected to be affected by river rises.
A severe weather warning for damaging winds remains in place for parts of north-west Tasmania.
The rain is expected to taper off in most major cities by the middle of next week.