Sydney struck by 130 mph winds after tornado warning issued

[SYDNEY] Severe thunderstorms and destructive winds lashed Sydney, causing flight cancellations and power outages after Australia's Bureau of Meteorology issued a tornado warning.

Wind gusts of 213 kilometers per hour (130 miles per hour) were recorded in the suburb of Kurnell, about 20 kilometers south of the central business district, before moving offshore, the weather bureau said in an alert. The State Emergency Service was called out to 160 jobs as the storm damaged trees, overturned a truck and caused a roof to collapse in South Nowra, south of Sydney.

Sydneysiders posted photos of the storm cell forming over the city on Twitter, under the hashtag #sydneystorm, and images of golf-ball sized hailstones. Some domestic flights out of the city were canceled, according to Sydney Airport's website, while three international flights were diverted. Almost 4,000 customers were left without power south of the city, most of them due to lightning strikes or fallen trees, according to Endeavour Energy.

A severe weather warning was issued for areas north of Sydney as the storm moved up the coast.

BLOOMBERG