Airlines cancel flights as ‘bomb cyclone’ hits Sydney Australia

A ‘bomb cyclone’ off the NSW coast is bringing hazardous surf conditions, strong winds and heavy rain that threatens to cause flash flooding.

A severe weather warning for damaging winds and heavy rainfall is in place for parts of the Mid North Coast, Hunter, Metropolitan, Illawarra, Northern Tablelands and South Coast districts. This includes locations such as Taree, Newcastle, Gosford, Sydney, Wollongong, Port Macquarie, Tenterfield, Glen Innes and Tabulam.

We regret the impact of this on guests’ travel plans and are working hard to ensure they reach their destination safely and as soon as possible.”

So far, Sydney Airport’s flight tracker shows most arriving and departing flights this morning are on schedule, though there have been multiple cancellations.

Damaging winds are expected to develop today, with wind gusts in Sydney expected to reach 125km/hr, comparable to speeds felt in a tropical cyclone.

12 Virgin flights and seven Qantas flights have been cancelled so far this morning. The flight path between Newcastle and Sydney has been most heavily affected.

A Virgin Australia spokesperson said: “The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority, and our meteorologists continue to closely monitor the weather system.”

According to ABC Meteorologist Tom Saunders, a ‘bomb cyclone‘ is caused when a low-pressure system transforms from non-existence to a formidable storm just a day later.

“The expression ‘bomb’ is due to the explosive speed of development, however its usage is restricted only to systems where the reduction in pressure exceeds a specific rate based on latitude,” Saunders said.

Meteorologists also label it a system that has experienced ‘bombogenesis’