Wild weather batters Australia

Hail, thunderstorms, dust storms, floods, bushfires and a tornado have all hit
Australia over 24 hours since Monday night.
And the wild weather is expected to continue.
The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has issued severe weather warnings across the
country with reports hail is smashing parts of NSW, dust storms are blanketing
Canberra and Broken Hill, and damaging winds are lashing three other states.
This follows heavy storms in Adelaide on Monday night which flooded streets, knocked
over trees and recorded winds of up to 150km/h.
The bureau said a tornado was recorded by a severe storm monitor in the mid-north of
South Australia, with the strong winds experienced over that state now extending
across western NSW and into the ACT, bringing with it thick dust.
"We have reports of visibility down to about 200m in some parts which is like a
thick fog," senior bureau forecaster Deryn Griffiths said.
"It is occurring right across NSW and into the ocean."
A severe weather warning for thunderstorms, damaging winds and large hailstones has
been issued for southern and western NSW and the ACT.
A line of thunderstorms was hovering over Goulburn, Parkes, Young and Bourke on
Tuesday afternoon.
"They're moving quite fast so we're getting severe wind gusts in the southern part
and we've had received reports of 2 to 3cm hailstones in Goulburn," Ms Griffiths
said.
She said no thunderstorm warning had been issued for Sydney but the situation was
being monitored, with gusty winds expected.
Meanwhile, firefighters in Queensland spent the day battling a dozen blazes amid dry
and hot conditions and high winds.
They were bracing for another busy day on Wednesday, with the windy weather expected
to continue.
Severe weather warnings of flash flooding and damaging winds has been issued for
parts of Victoria, while the Northern Territory and parts of Queensland have also
been issued with warnings of damaging wind gusts.
Emergency services across the country are advising residents to stay away from
fallen power lines, stay indoors away from windows and keep children inside.
Meanwhile, a total fire ban has been declared for the NSW north coast on Wednesday.