Huge surf batters Sydney coast after heavy fog lifts
'Kids are playing on the stairs and getting ready to run back to the beach as a wave hits.'
The large swell is being pushed by the lingering low-pressure system which drenched Sydney over the past week in addition to strong winds that whip the surf.
A heavy fog which blanketed Sydney in the early morning dissipated to leave a bright, warm and sunny day.
The bureau's Dean Narramore said visibility was as low as 50 metres in some parts of Sydney in the morning, including around the Harbour Bridge.
'We saw fog develop along our western and southern suburbs, a few hours after sunset [on Monday],' he said on Tuesday morning, adding the previous day's showers and a lack of wind had created the perfect conditions for thick, widespread fog.
'That just continued to expand overnight and early this morning, and now thick fog is covering much of Sydney Harbour out to the airport.'
The number of international and domestic flights taking off and landing at Sydney Airport was reduced on Tuesday morning, and a small number were cancelled.
The bureau issued a road weather alert for all of Sydney and advised motorists to take extreme care. No Sydney ferries were running at 6am, Transport for NSW advised, but ferries east of the Harbour Bridge resumed about 6.30am followed by all remaining services by 9am.
Weatherzone meteorologist Aline Ribeiro said Tuesday morning's fog was 'really dense'. 'It's really easy for this to develop when you have a high-pressure system and a cold weather front,' she said, adding Tuesday's settled conditions, light winds, and high humidity – at 98 per cent in the morning – meant the fog would linger before temperatures rose.
Conditions are considered to have created fog when the concentration of water droplets means visibility is less than one kilometre. Tuesday morning's fog followed similar conditions in June, in which ferries were cancelled and Sydney-wide road weather alert was issued.
The Bureau of Meteorology forecast temperatures in Sydney would reach nearly 23 degrees on Tuesday. Wednesday is also expected to be sunny with a top temperature of 19 degrees.
Tuesday's weather and surf conditions will slowly transition back to rainy and cold, with the weather bureau warning rain is set to return by the end of the week.
The likelihood of rain is higher on Thursday with a high of 17 degrees, while showers and light winds are forecast to return on Friday and through the weekend. There was a medium chance of showers expected for Sunday's City2Surf race.
Flood warnings were issues across NSW after heavy downpours at the start of August saw flood warnings issued across NSW. Sydney experienced rainfall totals of at least 100 to 150 millimetres last week, and parts of Newcastle and the Hunter about 200 millimetres.
NSW Police said divers had joined a multi-agency search for a 26-year-old woman swept away in floods 16 kilometres north of Cessnock in the Hunter Valley on Saturday.
The woman, a Chinese tourist, was a passenger in a vehicle which became stuck after it attempted to drive through floodwater on Saturday evening. The 27-year-old driver escaped uninjured.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Brisbane news live: Cyclists planning next protest across the Story Bridge
Latest posts Latest posts 7.18am Cyclists planning next protest across the Story Bridge By The last time protesters tried to stop traffic on the Story Bridge to draw attention to the closure of its footpaths, they were blocked by a court. Now they're trying again. In May, protesters lodged a notice of intention to protest by walking across the Story Bridge on a Friday at 8am, closing all six traffic lanes, but a court ruled it would be too disruptive. The Story Bridge footpaths, used by about 4000 walkers, bike and scooter riders, were closed suddenly five months ago. The Story Bridge Travel Alliance has now announced its next protest, a protest fashion walk, on Sunday, August 24, with a walk across one traffic lane in their finest outfits from 11am, then to the Kangaroo Point Bridge, and ending at the City Botanic Gardens. It's the same day the Brisbane Fashion Festival plans to hold a parade on the Kangaroo Point Bridge from 10.30am. Story Bridge Active Travel Alliance organiser Kathryn Good said commuters who would usually use the Story Bridge shared paths were being forced into lengthy and unsafe detours. 'If council can roll out the red carpet on the Kangaroo Point green bridge for a fashion show, they can certainly make space on the Story Bridge for the thousands of us just trying to get to work,' she said. The group has been calling for one traffic lane to be turned into an active travel lane while the footpaths are closed, and they've hosted a 'bike bus' across the bridge on weekday mornings. The council has started installing steel joists and reinforced polymer decking, and has warned some night traffic lane closures will be needed, as they try to reopen at least one footpath before the end of the year, while it hopes the federal government will help pay for a full restoration of the bridge. 7.08am Cloudy with a chance of a shower A wet weekend is coming … but first, the River City is set for a cloudy Thursday. The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a 20 per cent chance of rain for Brisbane today, with a maximum temperature of 23 degrees. Looking ahead, on Friday the chance of rain rises to 80 per cent, and even higher on Saturday. Here's the forecast for the weekend and early next week. 7.05am While you were sleeping Here's what's making news further afield this morning: A man who went missing while prospecting for gold in Western Australia's desert has been found alive after carving his name into a clearing in the hope someone would see it. While cohabitation is commonly thought of as a major part of committed relationships, a growing number of couples are opting to live apart – and they couldn't be happier. Australians have $103.7 billion in banknotes mostly stashed at home, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia. But while it's sitting under the mattress, it's losing value due to inflation. Here are some ways to invest it instead. Australia's medicines regulator has flagged a crackdown on the medicinal cannabis industry, pointing to a ballooning number of high-strength products issued through telehealth appointments. Media bosses are lobbying the PM over the threat AI poses to news outlets, uniting with authors, musicians and artists to slam a proposal to waive copyright laws for multibillion-dollar AI companies. 6.39am The top stories this morning Good morning, and welcome to Brisbane Times' news blog for Thursday, August 7. Today we can expect a partly cloudy day with a top temperature of 23 degrees. In this morning's local headlines: Brisbane's city centre has three times the retail vacancies of Sydney's. But two things are helping to close the gap. Nearly 74,000 Queensland students showed up at school yesterday as their teachers walked off the job for the first time in 16 years. Queensland completely cleared an area of forest and woodland twice the size of the City of Brisbane in the year to August 2023, according to a newly released report. The Crisafulli government has quietly abandoned a key plank of landmark reports into women's safety, handing the work of publicly overseeing progress on major reforms to an advisory panel and a new departmental office. The family of a former army major accused of killing his wife during a kayaking trip north of Brisbane has offered a $250,000 surety for his release on bail.
The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
Brisbane news live: Cyclists planning next protest across the Story Bridge
Latest posts Latest posts 7.18am Cyclists planning next protest across the Story Bridge By The last time protesters tried to stop traffic on the Story Bridge to draw attention to the closure of its footpaths, they were blocked by a court. Now they're trying again. In May, protesters lodged a notice of intention to protest by walking across the Story Bridge on a Friday at 8am, closing all six traffic lanes, but a court ruled it would be too disruptive. The Story Bridge footpaths, used by about 4000 walkers, bike and scooter riders, were closed suddenly five months ago. The Story Bridge Travel Alliance has now announced its next protest, a protest fashion walk, on Sunday, August 24, with a walk across one traffic lane in their finest outfits from 11am, then to the Kangaroo Point Bridge, and ending at the City Botanic Gardens. It's the same day the Brisbane Fashion Festival plans to hold a parade on the Kangaroo Point Bridge from 10.30am. Story Bridge Active Travel Alliance organiser Kathryn Good said commuters who would usually use the Story Bridge shared paths were being forced into lengthy and unsafe detours. 'If council can roll out the red carpet on the Kangaroo Point green bridge for a fashion show, they can certainly make space on the Story Bridge for the thousands of us just trying to get to work,' she said. The group has been calling for one traffic lane to be turned into an active travel lane while the footpaths are closed, and they've hosted a 'bike bus' across the bridge on weekday mornings. The council has started installing steel joists and reinforced polymer decking, and has warned some night traffic lane closures will be needed, as they try to reopen at least one footpath before the end of the year, while it hopes the federal government will help pay for a full restoration of the bridge. 7.08am Cloudy with a chance of a shower A wet weekend is coming … but first, the River City is set for a cloudy Thursday. The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a 20 per cent chance of rain for Brisbane today, with a maximum temperature of 23 degrees. Looking ahead, on Friday the chance of rain rises to 80 per cent, and even higher on Saturday. Here's the forecast for the weekend and early next week. 7.05am While you were sleeping Here's what's making news further afield this morning: A man who went missing while prospecting for gold in Western Australia's desert has been found alive after carving his name into a clearing in the hope someone would see it. While cohabitation is commonly thought of as a major part of committed relationships, a growing number of couples are opting to live apart – and they couldn't be happier. Australians have $103.7 billion in banknotes mostly stashed at home, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia. But while it's sitting under the mattress, it's losing value due to inflation. Here are some ways to invest it instead. Australia's medicines regulator has flagged a crackdown on the medicinal cannabis industry, pointing to a ballooning number of high-strength products issued through telehealth appointments. Media bosses are lobbying the PM over the threat AI poses to news outlets, uniting with authors, musicians and artists to slam a proposal to waive copyright laws for multibillion-dollar AI companies. 6.39am The top stories this morning Good morning, and welcome to Brisbane Times' news blog for Thursday, August 7. Today we can expect a partly cloudy day with a top temperature of 23 degrees. In this morning's local headlines: Brisbane's city centre has three times the retail vacancies of Sydney's. But two things are helping to close the gap. Nearly 74,000 Queensland students showed up at school yesterday as their teachers walked off the job for the first time in 16 years. Queensland completely cleared an area of forest and woodland twice the size of the City of Brisbane in the year to August 2023, according to a newly released report. The Crisafulli government has quietly abandoned a key plank of landmark reports into women's safety, handing the work of publicly overseeing progress on major reforms to an advisory panel and a new departmental office. The family of a former army major accused of killing his wife during a kayaking trip north of Brisbane has offered a $250,000 surety for his release on bail.
Sky News AU
5 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Sydney's two-day sunny reprieve to end as cold wet weather returns for east coast and some inland regions
Sydneysiders have been warned to consider changing their weekend plans as the two-day sunny reprieve from a bout of heavy rain is set to end. More cold, wet weather is expected to return for the east coast of NSW and some inland regions from Thursday. The Bureau of Meteorology said showers would develop across eastern NSW and inland Queensland on Thursday and would spread across much of both states on Friday. Sky News meteorologist Rob Sharpe said Sydney should expect showers in the morning and 'colder, wet weather' which will be 'coming and going' for the rest of this week and into the next one. 'It doesn't look as wet as what we saw over that five days stretch where most of Sydney saw more than 100 millimetres of rain but that does look like most of Sydney will see 50 millimetres, primarily from Friday to Monday with a series of showers,' Sharpe said. Sharpe said Saturday would likely be the 'wettest day of the week'. 'I'm already thinking of changing my plans because of the forecast and I'm sure many other people are as well,' he said. 'But it won't just be Sydney, it's up and down the New South Wales coast. We'll see plenty of showers through the weekend and out until one day before it eases back on Tuesday.' He said 'hopefully that's the end', but there were no guarantees. 'Inland parts of New South Wales will also get a little bit of wet weather, most likely on Friday, but it's not nearly as substantial as the rain that happened last week in those parts,' he said. As for Queenslanders, Sharpe said residents in the sunshine state ought to 'get their washing done ASAP'. 'The rain will start picking up Friday across the state and Saturday, but then their rain won't last too long. 'But for Sydney-siders, if you're lucky, you might be able to hang out the washing late on Thursday and get a drive before the rain kicks in again Friday onwards.' Forecasts for Thursday Sydney - Min 11, Max 17 with a chance of early showers. Melbourne - Min 5, Max 14 with a 10 per cent chance of showers. Brisbane - Min 13, Max 23 with a 20 per cent chance of rain. Perth - Min 7, Max 21 with dry conditions. Adelaide - Min 7, Max 16 with a 10 per cent chance of rain. Canberra - Min 0, Max 14 with dry conditions. Hobart - Min 5, Max 14 with a 20 per cent change of rain.
