Is it just me, or have the past few weeks been incredibly cursed? Because somehow, after last week’s earthquake in Victoria, I have more apocalyptic news to report: NSW just experienced *checks notes* a fucking tornado.
Three people have been injured, powerlines were tipped over and a house was demolished as a tornado, of all things, tore through Central NSW this afternoon.
The Bureau of Meteorology can confirm a #tornado has occurred in the Central West of #NSW early this afternoon.
There are reports of damage to houses, powerlines and trees around the Clear Creek area, north north-east of Bathurst. @NSWSES @nswpolice
📷: Dean Whiting pic.twitter.com/sTM2tLvGuE
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) September 30, 2021
The tornado ripped through a rural area between Bathurst and Lithgow, and left a man in his 40s with cuts to his arms.
He has since been taken to hospital, after emergency services were called to the scene at Meadow Flat near Lithgow around 2pm. His home was demolished by the disaster.
Around the same time, a couple was injured at Clear Creek near Bathurst.
NSW Ambulance said a man was treated for cuts and bruises, while a woman was taken to the Bathurst hospital with injuries to her neck and back. She is in a stable condition.
Welcome to Australia, watch out for the poisonous snakes, mouse plague, bushfires, drought, also floods, plus there’s the deadly pandemic too, and at the moment there’s a tornado causing a bit of bother but she’ll be right mate. https://t.co/OCMxJvFVTs
— Adam Liaw (@adamliaw) September 30, 2021
Bureau of Meterology forecaster Gabrielle Woodhouse said tornadoes are pretty rare, but not totally out of the question.
“Tornadoes are really quite … very localised phenomena, so it’s quite difficult to be able to predict those well in advance of time,” she said, per ABC.
She said it was too early to tell exactly how big the area the tornado hit is, but it’s currently estimated to be a 10-to-30km stretch.
Woodhouse said the storm season was “really kicking off”.
The BOM has warned earlier this week that eastern Australia is expected to be hit by a triple-threat storm. Given the tornado, and the hail in parts of Sydney, it looks like the supercell is underway.
Keep up to date with weather warnings on the BOM website, and stay safe!
