Towns in regional New South Wales have been left without power and emergency crews are responding to 240 calls for assistance as an intense weather system has moved across the state's central west.
Key points:
- More than 10,000 people in and around Dubbo are without power Thursday night
- An intense storm during the afternoon damaged homes, trees and powerlines
- A wind gust of 100 kilometres per hour was recorded in Dubbo at 5:30pm
The powerful storm hit Dubbo at about 4:30pm on Thursday with sustained rain and hail for about 45 minutes, leaving most of the town without power.
Further south near Orange, clouds moving towards Bathurst dumped heavy rain and hail for about 20 minutes.
Some areas were pummelled with hailstones as large as golf balls, while others were inundated by swathes of hail that left pavements and lawns covered in a thick coating of ice.
Peta Lane said the "freak" storm dumped a lot of large hail before inches of water inundated her Dubbo home.
"The bedrooms, the lounge rooms, it's gone everywhere," she said.
A wind gust of 100 kilometres per hour was recorded in Dubbo at 5:30pm and knocked down several trees and powerlines.
As a result, more than 10,000 properties were without power Thursday night and traffic lights were down across the town.
Multiple Essential Energy crews from neighbouring regions were being deployed to assist but it was not clear when power would be restored.
Fire and Rescue NSW, Volunteer Rescue Association, NSW Police and the SES were attending hundreds of calls to assist with damage from wind, hail and flash flooding.
"Please be assured we are still working away and our volunteers will be working well into the night," the SES Dubbo Unit posted on its Facebook page.
Some locals reported receiving as much as 54 millimetres of rain in one hour.
The official rain gauges reached about 10mm at Orange and Bathurst, and 21mm at Dubbo.