Australian people warned for very dangerous thunderstorms... Sydney experiences wet and wild weather

Sydney, March 14: Australia Sydney's south is currently battling "very short and sharp, but very heavy" storms and the rest of the city is unlikely to escape the wild weather. The thunderstorms will continue to develop over the next few hours with the Bureau of Meteorology issuing a warning for very dangerous thunderstorms near Hornsby, Parramatta and the Nattai Tablelands by 7.50pm and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Mona Vale and Bulli by 8.20pm.

Since 9 am on Thursday, some areas in Sydney's south, such as Camden, have received about 20 millimetres of rain.

Meanwhile, a temperature at Himachal Pradesh's Dalhousie recorded sub-zero temperatures after the minimum temperature there dropped to minus 0.1 degree Celsius. Himachal's popular tourist destination received 5 cm snowfall from yesterday evening till today morning.

Other parts of Himachal Pradesh received light rain, the Meteorological (Met) Department said.

Himachal's Lahaul and Spiti's administrative centre Keylong continued to be the coldest place in the state, recording a temperature of minus 8 degrees Celsius. Gulbarga in Karnataka is the hottest city in India with a maximum temperature of 40.5°C.

People are encouraged to check-in with their airlines for more information. Passengers are experiencing delays of up to about 90 minutes at the airport and 20 flights have been cancelled due to weather.

Endeavour Energy emergency crews are working to restore power to about 8650 homes and businesses across the Illawarra region, Southerland Highlands and Macarthur district after lightning, hail and damaging winds.

Sydney Trains said in a statement it had "deployed additional staff at a number of locations to respond to any weather incidents that might impact the network".

"In the event of extreme weather conditions, Sydney Trains encourages all our customers to take extra care when moving around stations, and to not hesitate in immediately alerting our staff to any issues caused by the weather."

The "intense" storm cells may make roads and waterways dangerous, warned State Emergency Service Metro Zone Commander Laura Whythe.

"We’re reminding people to put their own safety first and never drive, walk, ride or play in floodwaters. Get ready now for upcoming wet conditions by planning your route and take extra care when driving or moving about," she said.