Hunter Residents Warned to be on Flood Watch with Parts of Lake Macquarie Already Copping a Drenching

BY ISABEL EVERETT

The Bureau of Meteorology is warning Hunter residents to be on flood watch. 

The Bureau has advised that heavy rainfall and damaging winds are expected on Thursday into the weekend, with between 50 and 100 millimetres forecast to fall across the region from today until Saturday.

68 millimetres of rain had already fallen at Blacksmiths in Lake Macquarie since 9am on Thursday as of 1.00pm, and 50 millimetres at Mereweather. 

Minor to moderate flooding is expected in the Wollombi Brook & Lower Hunter River. 

Locals are being reminded not to drive through flood waters, after a driver was rescued by the State Emergency Service after getting stuck in floodwaters on Oakdale Road at Gateshead. 

SES Deputy Commissioner, Daniel Austin says everyone needs to be careful. 

"It doesn't take much water to float a car, about 15 centimeters is all it takes. You see images all the time of people trying to drive through well over the wheel arches."

A number of roads are affected by flood waters including;

• The Pacific Highway at Ferodale
• The Newcastle Inner City Bypass near University Drive
• Warners Bay on King Street between Hillsborough Road/Medcalf Street and Myles Avenue 
• One of two northbound lanes closed on the Pacific Highway at Gateshead near the inner city bypass. 

Hunter Water says heavy rain events lead to storm water and debris infiltrating the wastewater system and can cause overflows.

Marine Rescue NSW is also warning boaters to stay off the water. 

Foreshore Drive, Corlette, Port Stephens  Image: Port Stephens Council 

Welcome Rain Hit And Miss In The Hunter

BY IAN CROUCH

Some areas in the Hunter received a drenching during Thursday's spectacular electrical storms while other areas only saw light falls.

Bulladelah topped the list in the Hunter with 78 millimetres while 71 millimetres fell in the space of half an hour at Tomago and Waratah recorded 14 millimetres.

However, areas around Cessnock and Lake Macquarie had very little if any rainfall.

Up the Valley, the Barringtons Bonnie Doon weather station recorded 62 millimetres while Parkville and Cressfield.had 35, Denman had 27 and Scone 19.

The SES received 20 calls for assistance, with lightening and strong winds bringing down trees and power lines.

More than 10,000 lightning strikes were recorded in the Hunter during the storms.

Fire crews were called to a home in Anna Place at Wallsend after it was struck by lightening just before 5.30pm.

Firefighters took about an hour to extinguish smouldering insulation batts in the roof - the rest of the house was undamaged.

Ausgrid says power has been restored to more than 10,000 homes and businesses blacked out during the storms.

More showers and storms are forecast for Friday and the weekend.

Ausgrid says more than 10,000 customers lost power in the Hunter during Thursday's storms Picture: abc.net.au

Upper Hunter To Receive Rain

BY KYLE CARROLL

The Upper Hunter is expecting to see rain over the weekend with the Bureau of Meteorology monitoring a weather system on its way.

Meteorologist Ashleigh Lange said the rain looks promising across Northern NSW.

"We've got a bit of rain developing this afternoon with some possible storms in the Northern districts, tomorrow a low-pressure system moving into the West of the State with some good rain," she said.

"The upper Hunter can expect to see anywhere between 5 to 15 millimetres on Saturday and the same on Sunday."

Nationally, it was the driest July since 2002, with affected areas of North-Western NSW, receiving less than 30% of average rainfall across the last 4 months.

Drought-stricken locals can expect some minor relief over the weekend but not enough to break the dry conditions.

"It will certainly help but you need a few couple rain-bearing systems to get rid of the dryness, looking at the maps it looks like September has a 50% of exceeding its monthly rainfall," she said.

Image: BOM. 24 Hour Forecast

Roads begin to flood across Hunter amidst wild weather

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE

UPDATE 2:30PM

The Bureau of Meteorology says a line of thunderstorms is currently passing through Redhead and is set to affect Charlestown, Boolaroo and Lake Macquarie.

The storms are now going to hit Newcastle, West Wallsend and Cardiff.

The SES have already responded to around 55 calls across the Hunter, many of which were requests for sandbags.

Residents looking to secure sandbags for their property are being encouraged to attend SES supply points at these locations:

Singleton: 9-11 Queen Street, Singleton.
Dungog: Clarence Town Road, Dungog.
Maitland: Waterworks Road, Rutherford.
Tomaree: Sandy Point Road, Corlette.
Newcastle: 75 Elizabeth Street, Newcastle.

65 millimetres of rain has fallen today at the Barrington Tops, while Dungog received over 100 millimetres within an hour this morning.

There have been reports of rainwater on the road at University Drive at Callaghan, as well as pooling water on Lookout Road near McCaffrey Drive.

In Wallsend, the Upper Reserve is already underwater, while drains near Wallsend Plaza are filling up quickly.

Try to avoid driving through Cardiff - Main Road and Fern Valley Road are flooded.

The SES say they have 300 volunteers at the ready to be deployed wherever they are required across the Hunter as the onslaught continues.

The Bureau of Meteorology still expect around 100 to 200 millimetres to fall across Newcastle and the Lower Hunter over the next 24 hours, while a Severe Thunderstorm Warning remains in place. 

Drivers risk it on flooding Cardiff Roads. Image: SRC.