Woman missing in floodwaters as wild weather rips across NSW

The search for the woman was suspended overnight and will continue on Sunday with help from members of the NSW Rural Fire Association and VRA Rescue.

It was among 11 flood rescues mainly related to people stuck in vehicles after driving into floodwater, prompting a plea from the SES for people not to attempt to cross floodwater.

Rivers are still expected to rise throughout today and into Monday, and residents in parts of Scone, Dungog, Tamworth and Gunnedah have been warned to prepare to isolate.

Further north, Guyra and Armidale received 20 to 40 centimetres on Saturday afternoon, giving way to an outbreak of snowman-making activity and snow-clogged vehicles.

Glen Innes recorded its coldest day in 29 years of records, with a top of 4.1 degrees, while Inverell, Tamworth and Narrabri clocked up their coolest August days.

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More than 100 vehicles became stuck in snow on the New England Highway, Waterfall Way, Norris Road and Grafton Road in circumstances where the SES was called to respond. Black ice also made for dangerous road conditions.

South-east Queensland received its first snow since 2015.

“It was more of a flurry than settling on the ground,” the Bureau of Meteorology’s Miriam Bradbury said.

The highest rainfalls were recorded at Careys Peak in the upper Hunter (141 mm) and Bulahdelah on the Mid North Coast (139 mm). The strongest wind gusts were at Lord Howe Island (107 kph) and Norah Head (104kph).

“There was fairly widespread rain from the Illawarra to the Mid North Coast, pushing inland along the Northern Tablelands, but the highest falls were really clustered across the Hunter and parts of the Mid North Coast,” Bradbury said.