Briefly:
Severe weather warnings have eased for southeast Australia as a cold front approaches the coast into the Tasman Sea.
State emergency services in the affected areas say there are still trees, branches and fallen debris that need to be cleaned up on Sunday.
What then?
Minor flood warnings remain in place today for Tasmania and Victoria as wet weather spreads across the river network.
Clean-up efforts continue today following severe weather warnings that hit parts of south-eastern Australia over the weekend.
A cold front on Saturday brought rain, snow and damaging winds to South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria, downing trees and power lines.
The cold front has already passed through, “taking the severe weather with it,” said senior meteorologist Angus Haynes from the Met Office.
“It is now located east of New South Wales and the Tasman Sea and is moving east away from the country,” he said.
Mr. Haynes told ABC News that the affected areas are still expecting a stormy day that will continue to calm down during the afternoon and evening.
“So, overall, through Sunday, we will see a slight easing or relaxation of the severe conditions across southeastern Australia.”
Severe weather warnings have been cancelled nationwide, however a few minor flood warnings have been issued in Victoria and Tasmania, Haynes said.
“The rain has now stopped in the catchment areas of those rivers, but the wet weather from the past few days is still working its way down through the river network,” he said.
“We could still see some minor flooding around some of those rivers.”
Power outages and debris remain a concern.
The threat has eased this morning after a warning of damaging winds due to a westerly flow was issued, the NSW Emergency Service said.
Citizens were advised to stay away from branches or large debris that may be on the roofs of balconies due to possible structural damage, and to stay away from fallen power lines, trees and damaged buildings.
NSW Emergency Services has seen 1,100 incidents in the past 24 hours, most involving fallen trees and branches, said Jason Sims, the operations coordinator.
“Our crews have been helping the community with these types of jobs… on the roads as well as damaged property and people’s homes and so on.”
He said some areas of Sydney also recorded power outages, while Ausgrid said 1,639 sites were affected by unplanned outages across the country.
Two women in Manly, an eastern suburb of the city, escaped unhurt after scaffolding from a construction site collapsed on their car yesterday afternoon.
The 54-year-old driver and her 38-year-old passenger managed to extricate themselves from the wrecked vehicle, while the scaffolding was later removed from the road.
NSW Police said the incident would be referred to SafeWork NSW.
Snow saves season in NSW
Businesses in NSW’s Snowy Mountains are celebrating the latest snowfall, after a less than ideal start to the season.
Ski resorts have recorded nearly 50 centimetres of snowfall in the last 48 hours, Against the backdrop of the Arctic outbreak that has affected Eastern Australia.
The latest snowstorm has also come at a good time, as today is the last day of the school holidays in New South Wales.
“This last bit of snow is amazing, it’s kind of a season saver, especially after last year when it was so warm,” said Narissa Joy Hamilton, who runs the Pretty Valley kiosk inside Perisher Valley.
Most snow falls in mid-July through August.
Today, the country is expected to witness a high chance of rain over the mountain peaks, with snow falling above 1,100 meters.
For business owners like Joy Hamilton, she is grateful to see more snow and hopes it bodes well for the rest of the season.
“That means we’re going to be busy… and that basically means we’re able to keep going,” she said.
“Everyone went from anxious to happy and relieved.”
Flood warnings in Tasmania and Victoria
In Tasmania, the Bureau of Meteorology has issued strong wind warnings for many coastal and island areas, with flood watches or warnings in place for two river systems.
Heavy rain is expected across western Tasmania during the morning, spreading northwards by midday.
In the rest of the state, the weather is expected to remain stable until scattered showers of rain appear in the afternoon.
As of this morning, there has been a power outage in Tasmania affecting approximately 70 TasNetworks customers.
Meanwhile, the South Australian Emergency Service received just a dozen calls for help overnight Saturday, and has reduced resources to normal levels.
It was published. , Updated
