Sydney records wettest day in 146 years as NSW inundated with heavy rain, tornadoes

Sydney has smashed a grim record as wild weather continues to pummel the state, with severe thunderstorms and flash flooding triggering hundreds of calls for help. Severe thunderstorms and lashings of rain led to large hail, blistering wind gusts exceeding speeds of 90kmh and roads, creeks and rivers being inundated. According to Weatherzone, the cities of Sydney, Canberra and Wollongong have all had their wettest day of 2025. Sydney has recorded its wettest September day in almost 150 years as flash flooding hits the city. A total of 122mm fell on Sydney in the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday – marking the capital’s heaviest daily rainfall total for September since 1879.In the span of 24 hours, the NSW SES received 854 calls and 34 rescue calls - most originating from the metro and southeastern zones.Dramatic footage from the SES showed the moment a group of bushwalkers were rescued from rapidly rising floodwaters at Wattamolla. A severe weather warning for the parts of Mid North Coast, Northern Tablelands and Hunter forecast districts has been issued by the bureau. “A low pressure system that brought heavy rainfall and damaging winds to coastal parts of the state overnight has now moved offshore, easing conditions slightly across coastal parts,” the warning states. “A vigorous westerly flow is expected to remain about elevated parts of the northeast into this afternoon, until the low moves further offshore.” Damaging wind gusts reaching up to 90km/h are expected to continue over elevated parts of the Hunter, Mid North Coast and Northern Tablelands regions into the afternoon. Locations which may be affected include Drake, Ebor, Nowendoc, Gloucester, Barrington Tops and Yarrowitch. Over Wednesday, persistent and heavy rain fell across Sydney, the Illawarra, the South Coast and the Southern Tablelands, with the Bureau of Meteorology reporting 20mm-40mm in “pretty quick time”. The highest rainfall was in Greenwell Point, south of Wollongong, which recorded 180mm, with 120mm-150mm falling along the Illawarra coast. Sydney recorded 100mm of rain in the CBD, with the western suburbs copping 40mm-60mm. Senior meteorologist Angus Hines said more wild and soggy conditions can be expected for Sydney and coastal residents on Thursday. “The rain in southern NSW has begun to ease, but still expecting patchy falls for the next several hours between Newcastle and Batemans Bay,” Mr Hines said. “This includes both Sydney and Wollongong, who have already been drenched over the past 24 hours.” While the severe weather warning for Sydney has since been cancelled, residents can still expect moderate rain throughout the day. NSW SES State Duty Commander assistant commissioner Dean Storey said more wet weather was expected on Thursday, and urged residents to stay safe. “Flash flooding can occur quickly and without warning,” he said. “We implore motorists to never drive, walk or ride through floodwaters – if you come across a flooded road, turn around and find an alternative route.” The wild conditions are expected to stick around for a little while longer, with a coastal low pressure system heading northeast, bringing powerful, damaging and blistering winds. The bureau issued a warning the metropolitan, Mid North Coast and Hunter forecast districts, warning of damaging surf conditions, which could lead to damage and coastal erosion. Sky Weather meteorologist Julia Seymour said Thursday was “certainly not the day to hit the beach”. Another severe weather warning has been issued for parts of the Mid North Coast, Northern Tablelands and Hunter forecasts districts, damaging winds reaching speeds of 90km/h in the northeast of the state. Affected areas include Drake, Ebor, Nowendoc, Gloucester, Barrington Tops and Yarrowitch. “Rainfall rates and wind gusts are starting to ease in the south around the Illawarra and southern Sydney and are expected to continue to ease through the morning,” the bureau said. The wet weather isn’t subsiding in Sydney on Thursday, with a very high chance of rain and blistering winds throughout the day. Transport NSW has also warned of flash flooding in Bankstown between Fairford Rd to Canterbury Rd. Footage of a tornado northwest of Young, NSW On Wednesday afternoon, the weather became so intense that two tornadoes developed in the South West Slopes. The Bureau confirmed one formed north west of Young, and another was spotted near Caragabal. “Tornadoes are often too small to be seen on weather instruments like rain radars, but at least two tornadoes have been confirmed with video footage from yesterday,” Mr Hines said. “These tornadoes yesterday seemed to have mostly landed out in open space and certainly ripped down some trees and caused a little bit of damage out in nature, but it looks like property damage seems to have been minimal.”