Hunter Braces For Flash Flooding

 BY IAN  CROUCH

The State Emergency Service is bracing for a busy 48 hours in the Hunter as a low pressure system moves south from the Mid North Coast, bringing heavy rain and possible thunderstorms.

The Weather Bureau says we can expect up to 80 millimetres today and 100 millimetres tomorrow, with isolated falls topping 200 millimetres.

A Severe Weather Warning has been issued for the region with intense rainfall which could lead to dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding and damaging winds with gusts reaching in excess of 90 kilometres per hour.

The region has already been lashed with rainfall, and the weather bureau says things will only get worse before conditions improve on Sunday.

Blacksmiths has recorded 187 millimetres since 9.00am on Thursday, Merewether 140 and Adamstown 120.

At Grahamstown Dam, water is flowing over the spillway for the first time since January 2016.

Several roads were flooded while buses are replacing trains between Maitland and Scone today due to flooding on the tracks.

The SES says moderate to major flooding is expected on the Patterson and Williams Rivers; minor to moderate flooding is likely at Wollombi Brook and on the Lower Hunter River while local and minor flooding is expected in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie areas.

The Williams River at Dungog is likely to exceed 4.90 metres by 3:00 pm Friday, with minor flooding.

 The river level may reach the moderate flood level (7.60 m) late Friday into Saturday.

The severe weather has prompted the University of Newcastle to close the Callaghan and Ourimbah campuses until Sunday night when the weather situation will be reviewed. 

Severe Weather Warning In Place For The Hunter

 BY IAN CROUCH

 A Severe Weather Warning has been issued for Damaging Winds in the Hunter.

The Bureau says a strong southerly winds are expected to develop along the coast on Thursday afternoon gusting up to 90 km/hr.

The SES says residents should move vehicles under cover or away from trees and secure loose items around the home.

The winds are expected to ease early Friday morning as the low pressure system moves offshore.

There's also a 90 per cent chance of rain in Newcastle, while large and powerful surf conditions will be hazardous for swimmers, rock fishers and surfers.

BREAKING: Residents Evacuated as Roof Ripped from Stockton Nursing Home

BY MADELAINE MCNEILL

Emergency services are on the scene at Stockton where the roof of a nursing home has been ripped off by severe winds.

NSW Ambulance have evacuated 30 residents from the centre on Fullerton Street and ambulance crews are on hand to assess them after high winds tore a hole in the structure shortly after 10am.

300 square metres of the roof has been ripped from the structure and Fire and Rescue are assessing whether it can be strapped down.

Three fire trucks including a ladder platform and a rescue truck have responded to the incident and police are also at the scene.

Police, SES and Fire and Rescue are warning Hunter residents to stay safe as a damaging cold front continues to roll in across the state.

All ferry services on the Stockton-Newcastle line have also been suspended due to the wild weather.

Snow On The Barrington Tops As Hunter Braces For Wild Weather

BY IAN CROUCH

Frigid temperatures and rain have combined to produce snow showers on the Barrington Tops overnight.

Reports suggest a couple of centimetres has fallen, with more snow expected to fall above 800 metres today and above 1500 metres tomorrow.

Elsewhere, the mercury has plunged across the Hunter.

While it's 7-point-6 degrees at Williamtown,  the wind chill is making it feel like minus point 4.

Further north, there are reports of snow falls at Walcha north west of Tamworth and Armidale, where the temperature is point 2 of a degree at the airport, but it feels like minus 7-point-5.

A Severe Weather warning is current for the Hunter, with potentially destructive winds gusting up to 90 kilometres per hour expected later this morning or early afternoon in Newcastle.

Snow Is Falling On The Barrington Tops Pictures: Justin Lawrence