SUBURBS around Lake Macquarie were some of the worst hit as a storm whipped across the region on the weekend.
NSW SES crews from Cooranbong, Swansea-Catherine Hill Bay and Lake Macquarie received 26 calls for help and spent most of Sunday, November 5 dealing with the aftermath of the powerful storm. A water spout was even recorded travelling across the lake early Sunday morning.
"The sheer force of the storm tore off an entire tiled roof at Blacksmiths, while in Swansea, a lightning strike sent tiles flying a staggering 80 metres down the street," a statement from Swansea-Catherine Hill Bay SES said.
"In addition to roof damage, we've been working tirelessly to remove fallen trees blocking roads, ensuring the safety and accessibility of our community."
The Hunter coast is in for a good dose of wild weather this week as rain continues to push across the area.
The city had 9.5 millimetres of rainfall in the 24 hours to 9am on Sunday. Offshore just east of Stockton had 13 millimetres in the same period.
Heavier downpours hit in the outer suburbs with Barnsley recording 26 millimetres of rain during the 24 hour timeframe.
The State Emergency Service has renewed calls for people not to drive through floodwater. It comes after a driver had to be rescued from floodwaters in Moorhead Street, Lambton.
Flood rescue crews from NSW Fire and Rescue 357 Lambton, responded to multiple vehicles in flood waters on the Lambton street.
"Reports of a woman trapped in her vehicle in the water required teams to gear up for a flood rescue," a statement from the unit said.
"Luckily, there was not a serious threat to life and this incident was completed without too much trouble."
There was water over the road to a hazardous level on Newcastle Inner City Bypass at University Drive and Newcastle Road in Jesmond. The intersection of King Street and Steel Street in Newcastle West was also underwater on Sunday.
In Mayfield, leaves and debris littered the gutters of Maitland Road. A man stood at a pedestrian crossing with a cardboard box over his head. It offered little protection as the rain blew sideways.
At least one shop - Dominos Pizza - had been closed due to flooding. Water looked to be teasing at the doorway of several others which were closed as usual for the weekend, though the dark storefronts made it difficult to see any damage inside.
Water was pooling in Hanbury Street, covering several centimetres of each tyre as cars drove along the road. Drivers directed each other out of parking spots to avoid skidding in deeper spots of water.
There were 350 incidents statewide between 6pm Saturday November 4 and 3pm Sunday November 5. Across the area from Central Coast to the top of the north coast, 136 calls came in during the same period.
Of those calls, 30 were in Newcastle, 25 were in Swansea and about 15 were in Lake Macquarie. A further 73 jobs came in for the region on Sunday night, most in Newcastle and Swansea.
"The types of jobs we are looking at there are leaking roofs, damaged roofs, damaged roofs due to rain, sandbagging [jobs] and some fallen trees," SES spokesperson Jenni North said. "The leaking roofs was the highest [category]."
Ms North said the Hunter and Sydney metro have been the hardest hit areas state-wide in the last 24 hours.
The rain was no worry to children in Mayfield, though. A pair in spotted gumboots picked flowering weeds from a storm water pipe, handing the yellow blooms to their mother. They had abandoned the hoods of their raincoats, sticking their tongues out to catch droplets.
Like many Novocastrians, they were headed to a cafe for a warm drink. I followed suit and ordered a latte almost double the size what I would usually reach for.
"We have sold more large coffees today than usual. I think people want to warm up," the barista said as I paid.
Outside, a woman ran with a striped blue towel over her head to escape the rain. Judging by the array of wet hair on the street, she seemed to be one of many caught umbrella-less in a harsh downpour.
Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) spokesperson Sarah Scully said it would not be the last big bout of rain for the suburb this week.
A formal BOM severe weather warning alert for Newcastle has been removed, but Ms Scully said residents should still be prepared for harsh conditions this week.
"There is still a lot of rainfall and showers pushing in across the Newcastle area," she said. "They are expected to continue in an onshore flow across Monday and Tuesday until the winds shift around to north north easterly later on Tuesday."
Inland parts of the Hunter will likely be spared from rain for the next two days. There will be a brief reprieve for coastal areas on Wednesday as onshore showers lift but weather will remain "very unstable".
Thursday and Friday will see showers "concentrated" on the northern east coast, including the Hunter, though areas like Scone and Singleton are likely to get rain.
"The next seven days have forecasted showers and storms right over eastern Australia," Ms Scully said.
Newcastle will be a maximum of 23 degrees and cloudy on Monday, as will Port Stephens. Maitland and Singleton will have similar conditions. It is set to be slightly warmer - about 25 degrees maximum - in Scone.
