Woman missing as NSW floods, snow in Northern Tablelands as weather system hits
Two women in their 20s were driving about 16km north of Cessnock when their Mini Countryman became stuck as they tried to drive through floodwaters.
Both women exited the car, and the passenger was swept away.
The 27-year-old driver was safe.
The search was suspended overnight and has resumed today.
Rainfall totals as high as 137mm have triggered widespread emergency responses across NSW and southeast Queensland, after a barrage of wild weather hit both states.
The NSW State Emergency Service has issued more than 40 flood warnings north of Newcastle, with parts of one town urged to evacuate immediately.
Six streets in the Upper Hunter town of Scone were ordered to evacuate by 4am Sunday after 'major flooding'.
'If you remain in the area, you may become trapped without power, water, and other essential services,' the SES has warned residents.
'It may be too dangerous for NSW SES to rescue you, and buildings may not be able to withstand the impact of flood water.'
The NSW SES responded to more than 1,455 incidents caused by the severe weather, including more than 100 vehicles stuck in snow on the New England Highway, Waterfall Way, Norris Drive and Grafton Road.
'Unprecedented snowfall was recorded around Armidale and Guyra yesterday afternoon, creating dangerous road conditions,' the SES reported.
The conditions are expected to ease on Sunday afternoon, but high levels of snow will make driving dangerous and there remains a risk of riverine flooding.
Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said snow had been seen as far north as the Granite Belt in southeast Queensland.
'Now all of this snow, particularly across the northern tablelands, did create some fairly dangerous driving conditions and some roads are still closed,' Ms Bradbury said.
'Conditions will gradually ease through the course of today, but they'll ease more rapidly overnight tonight into Monday
'By Monday, we're really expecting fairly isolated showers across the East Coast, with wind starting to pull back as well. 'However, we are likely to see hazardous surf persisting through to the middle of the coming week, with flooding likely to continue as well, our riverine catchments are saturated and they will take a few days to start to come down from those flood levels that are expected.'
She went on to warn that a cold front hitting Western Australia could bring strong winds and thunderstorms.
'These winds will be ramping up about the southwest coast through this morning,' Ms Bradbury said.
'The forecast for Western Australia today indicates widespread showers and thunderstorms as the second cold front moves through, sweeping across those southwestern parts of the state.
'Thunderstorm could become severe through the course of today.
'We may also see small hail about the southwest coast of Western Australia today, including around the Perth area.' Brendan Kearns Cadet Journalist
Brendan Kearns is a cadet journalist with News Corp Australia. He has written for The Australian, the Herald Sun, the Geelong Advertiser, CHOICE, Cosmos, and The Citizen. He won Democracy's Watchdogs' Student Award for Investigative Journalism 2024 and hosted the third season of award-winning podcast Uncurated. He studied as Master of Journalism at The University of Melbourne, before that he worked as a video producer and disability worker. NewsWire
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