Winds of up to 130km/h are expected to lash parts of NSW this week, leading the Bureau of Meteorology to issue a severe weather warning for damaging gales for alpine areas and the South Coast.
Although Sydneysiders have been warned to stay on high alert for 90km/h winds, a severe thunderstorm warning that was issued by the bureau for Monday has been cancelled.
While the severe storm is no longer expected, the winds are predicted to cause temperatures in the city to plummet to 6 degrees on Wednesday and Thursday, and they are expected to stay below 20 degrees all week.
The cold front will bring heavy snowfalls to the NSW Alps, with a potential dusting for other parts of the state as temperatures drop.
Trains were halted on the South Coast Line between Kiama and Albion Park on Monday morning because a fallen tree blocked the track at Shellharbour Junction. Normal services resumed about 1pm.
Trains were also briefly disrupted on the T1 North Shore Line between North Sydney and Gordon due to an unrelated power supply issue at Chatswood.
Transport NSW advised all users to allow extra travel time, listen to announcements and check information displays for service updates during the bout of wild weather.
Blizzard conditions are also forecast for parts of the Snowy Mountains district above 1400 metres leading the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to recommend back-country travel be postponed until conditions improve.
Severe warnings are in place for Sydney, the Hunter, Illawarra, Batemans Bay and Eden areas.
The State Emergency Service overnight received 150 calls for assistance most of which were storm related. It cautioned residents to be wary of tree debris and branches that may fall at any time during strong wind gusts.
Despite most of eastern Australia experiencing an unusually cold start to winter, the country registered its third-warmest autumn on record, Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said.
Australia’s average mean temperature between March and May was 23.44 degrees, which is 1.44 degrees above the 1961 to 1990 average. It was also the country’s wettest autumn in a decade, as Sydney registered its wettest January-May period on record.
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