Overview

• A complex coastal low is driving intense thunderstorms, heavy rain and flash-flood risk across the Illawarra, South Coast, Southern Tablelands and parts of Sydney.
• The NSW SES received 854 calls for help and carried out 34 rescues in 24 hours, including bushwalkers saved from rising water at Wattamolla and a motorist recovered at the Camden Bypass.
• Forecasters warned of very heavy falls up to 140mm in a day and as much as 100mm in six hours in some districts, with saturated catchments heightening runoff and landslide hazards.
• Hazardous surf and strong-wind alerts cover large stretches of the coast, including Sydney, with authorities advising people to stay out of the water, avoid rock fishing and rethink bar crossings.
• A tornado was observed northwest of Young and another was sighted near Caragabal, with an RFS fire-tower camera capturing the twister; the warning was later cancelled, though damaging gusts up to 125 km/h and large hail remain possible into Thursday as the system tracks offshore.