A small tornado swept through Ulladulla on the New South Wales South Coast on Saturday, bringing down trees and damaging buildings as severe thunderstorms moved across the state.
Wishaya La Spina was in her car with her baby when she saw the tornado pass at about 1pm. She said the weather had initially been stormy but intensified suddenly.
“It was already storming, but nothing too severe. Then the wind just started to pick up and the next minute we spotted that little tornado,” she said.
La Spina filmed the event on her phone while deciding whether it was safer to remain in the car or leave it. Her baby was crying as the wind struck.
“It was pretty scary,” she said. “I was trying to protect him because you never know when a tree could come falling.”
NSW State Emergency Service crews received more than 80 reports across the state, with most coming from Ulladulla. The agency said there had been multiple reports of roofs blown from homes, significant property damage and trees blocking roads.
The SES said it was on standby ahead of further storms, while the Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning for severe thunderstorms and damaging wind gusts across central and south-eastern parts of New South Wales.
The warning covered areas including Sydney, Wollongong, Katoomba, Penrith, Parramatta and Bowral. Storms were expected to bring damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rain capable of causing flash flooding.
By late afternoon, thunderstorms were forecast to affect Wollongong, Campbelltown and Liverpool, followed by Sutherland, Sydney Airport, Richmond, Penrith and Sydney Olympic Park.
