A woman has been spotted playing the pokies despite rainwater cascading from the ceiling and inundating the gaming venue, as wild storms lashed ‘s south-east.
The woman was one of many caught in severe storms which hit Sydney and wider NSW on Wednesday night.
A short clip showed the determined punter continuing her game after winning a $128 jackpot, despite the rain pouring through the roof above her.
‘She’s only a few slaps away from the feature, she can’t leave now,’ the witness who filmed the woman said.
The wild weather system claimed the life of a man, aged in his 80s, in the state’s Central West on Wednesday night.
He was driving on Lachlan Valley Way in Cowra when a tree fell on his vehicle, killing him at the scene. He is yet to be formally identified.
State Emergency Service (SES) received more than 2,250 calls for assistance and responded to over 1,800 incidents in 24 hours.
Several residents were left without power, with more than 140,000 suffering power outages and 300 facing electrical hazards.
The wild weather is expected to continue in the coming days.
Severe thunderstorms are forecast to combine with a low pressure system from Thursday to Saturday, causing significant rain across ‘s east.
‘This setup is likely to cause rain and thunderstorms from Queensland down to Victoria on Wednesday, with a few storms also possible in Tasmania and South ,’ Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said.
‘Storm activity will persist overnight Wednesday into Thursday in some areas, with further storms expected to develop over parts of NSW and Queensland during Thursday and possibly Friday.
‘Dangerous storms will continue over parts of eastern on Thursday, although the focus of the storms will contract to northeast NSW and southeast Queensland.’
A flood watch has been issued for the Orara, Coffs Coast, Bellinger and Kalang River Catchments, Manning and Gloucester, Myall River, Karuah River, Wollombi Brook and Lower Hunter, and Paterson and Williams River, with minor flooding possible.
An unstable air mass combined with an upper trough to cause wild weather across large parts of NSW late Wednesday, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
Damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall smashed not only Sydney but also the Hunter, the Mid North Coast, Illawarra, Central Tablelands, North West Slopes and Plains and Northern Tablelands districts.
Wind gusts exceeding 100km/h were reported at Sydney Airport, Kurnell, Scone, Murrurindi Gap, Tamworth, Merriwa, Dubbo, Mullion, Bombala, Trangie, Cowra, Walgett, Cabrumurra and Wagga Wagga.
Storms in Wagga Wagga, in the state’s Riverina, saw people injured, property damaged and crops destroyed.
Multiple campers were injured when their demountable huts flipped in high winds at Bomen while trees fell onto vehicles at Tarcutta near Wagga Wagga.
SES crews received more than 200 calls for help in the region.
Sydney Airport was forced to temporarily ground all flights.
Arriving flights were diverted to other airports and departing aircraft were returned to their gates.
‘Due to heavy storm activity, there have been flight delays, cancellations and diversions,’ a spokesperson told Daily Mail .
Power outages also brought light rail services to a halt in the CBD between Town Hall and Circular Quay.
Stranded commuters were advised to walk or use alternative transport.
Multiple train stations were also left without power after a day of rail chaos, including Lidcombe, Cabramatta and Flemington.
Town Hall train station was flooded while T9 services were suspended between Epping and Hornsby after a tree fell onto wiring at Normanhurst.
The A-League women’s game between Sydney FC and Canberra United at Leichhardt Oval was suspended mid-match due to a pitch blackout and abandoned shortly afterwards. The Sky Blues were leading 2-0 at the time.
Sydneysiders took to social media to describe the chaos, saying they’d ‘never seen anything like this’ in the city.
One woman recorded a video of rain coming down almost sideways due to strong winds in the city’s outer suburbs.
Another filmed the storm front as lightning could be seen illuminating the sky over and over.
‘I can’t think of the last time I saw a storm like this. The lightning is insane,’ he wrote.
‘Did anyone order an apocalypse,’ another man asked.
Sheep graziers in the state’s south and ACT are warned that cold temperatures, rain and south to southwesterly winds will continue on Thursday.
‘Areas likely to be affected include the Snowy Mountains forecast district and parts of the Illawarra, South Coast, Southern Tablelands and n Capital Territory. There is a risk of losses of lambs and sheep exposed to these conditions,’ an alert stated.
Heavy rainfall was forecast to continue in the Illawarra, South Coast and Southern Tablelands regions.
A hazardous surf warning has been issued for the NSW coast stretching from the Hunter in the north to Batemans Bay in the south.
Sydney
Friday: Showers. Chance of a thunderstorm. Up to 9mm of rain. Winds up to 55km/h. Min 18C. Max 24C.
Saturday: Showers. Up to 10mm of rain. Winds up to 40km/h. Min 18C. Max 25C.
Sunday: Cloudy. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon. Winds southerly 20 to 30 km/h. Min 18C. Max 24C.
Melbourne
Friday: Possible shower. Chance of a thunderstorm. Winds up to 25km/h. Min 21C. Max 31C.
Saturday: Possible shower. Winds up to 25km/h. Min21C. Max 31C.
Sunday: Mostly sunny. Light winds becoming south to southeasterly 15 to 25 km/h during the afternoon then becoming light during the evening. Min 15C. Max 31C.
Brisbane
Friday: Possible shower. Chance of a thunderstorm. Winds up to 25km/h. Min 21C. Max 31C.
Saturday: Possible shower. Winds up to 25km/h. Min 21C. Max 31C.
Sunday: Partly cloudy. Medium chance of showers, most likely in the morning and afternoon. Winds southerly 15 to 20 km/h tending southeasterly 15 to 25 km/h during the day then becoming light during the evening. Min 21C. Max 29C.
Canberra
Friday: Mostly sunny. Slight chance of a shower. Winds up to 30km/h. Min 10C. Max 24C.
Saturday: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower. Min 11C. Max 22C.
Sunday: Sunny. Winds southeasterly 15 to 20 km/h tending easterly 15 to 25 km/h during the day then becoming light during the evening. Min 10C. Max 26C.
Adelaide
Friday: Mostly sunny. Winds up to 30km/h. Min 17C. Max 30C.
Saturday: Sunny. Winds up to 20km/h. Min 17C. Max 32C.
Sunday: Mostly sunny. Winds easterly 15 to 20 km/h shifting south to southwesterly 15 to 25 km/h during the morning then tending south to southeasterly during the evening. Min 20C. Max 36C.
Hobart
Friday: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower. Winds up to 25km/h. Min 15C. Max 20C.
Saturday: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower. Winds up to 25km/h. Min 13C. Max 20C.
Sunday: Mostly sunny. Light winds becoming easterly 15 to 25 km/h during the day then becoming light during the evening. Min 12C. Max 25C.
Perth
Friday: Shower or two. Chance of a thunderstorm. Up to 5mm of rain. Winds up to 35km/h. Min 22C. Max 30C.
Saturday: Partly cloudy. Slight chance of a shower. Winds up to 30km/h. Min 17C. Max 26C.
Sunday: Sunny. Winds east to southeasterly 25 to 35 km/h tending south to southeasterly 15 to 25 km/h during the afternoon then tending east to southeasterly during the evening. Min 18C. Max 36C.
Darwin
Friday: Showers. Chance of a thunderstorm. Up to 35mm of rain. Winds up to 20km/h. Min 25C. Max 32C.
Saturday: Showers. Chance of a thunderstorm. Up to 30mm of rain. Winds up to 20km/h. Min 25C. Max 32C.
Sunday: Partly cloudy. High chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon. The chance of a thunderstorm. Light winds. Min 23C. Max 31C.