First Victoria had an earthquake, and then NSW had a massive fucking storm. And then it had *another*, even more massive storm, right after restrictions eased, which collapsed the ceiling of a Westfield in Western Sydney. Is the apocalypse just a giant dick-measuring contest in how many ways the world can tell us to get fucked??
The thunderstorm we’ve been warned of all week finally ripped into NSW today, pelting Western Sydney with massive hailstones and collapsing the roof of Mt Druitt Westfield.
The monster storm battering was so intense that BOM issued an actual, real, tornado warning for Western Sydney. Can you believe!! Thankfully, no tornado appeared, though that doesn’t mean the storm wasn’t destructive.
In wild footage floating around Twitter, the roof of multiple stores in Westfield collapsed as rain water gushed in from flooded panels.
I just found this video of Westfield Mt Druitt during the storm. Westfield really should make sure their shopping centres are equipped better for storms. Best & Less always get flooded. pic.twitter.com/6Xnb6dNT8q
— Matt (@mattyhado) October 14, 2021
A video shows the ceiling caving in on a family shopping at Best & Less, while other footage obtained by 7 NEWS shows the ceiling near Woolworths bursting and flooding the centre.
People in Western Sydney also posted footage of golfball-sized hail covering streets in a matter of minutes.
This could be the end of the world. #SydneyStorm pic.twitter.com/IYMNltlUU5
— Michael Blok (@michaelblok26) October 14, 2021
Oh. My. #SydneyStorm pic.twitter.com/bbmbRVvLxI
— Michael Blok (@michaelblok26) October 14, 2021
Didn’t realise it was snow season #SydneyStorm pic.twitter.com/V7QRTap9LR
— Ribwich (@Ribwich93) October 14, 2021
I have never seen hail this big in my life #sydneystorm pic.twitter.com/EdgId1z7Qm
— 💖🦄Stacey🦄💖 (@TinkerTigerBell) October 14, 2021
Hailstones as giant as 5 centimetres (!!) were reported at Penrith this arvo, with 3-4 cm hail in the Blue Mountains and Goulburn.
7 NEWS reported that Goulburn received 24mm of rain in just 30 minutes. Fucking wild.
For now, it seems like the thunderstorm has eased a little, though we may not be in the clear until Friday afternoon. BOM has also issued a new weather warning for strong wind.