New South Wales is cleaning up after a wild 24 hours which brought record rain, severe thunderstorms, destructive winds and powerful surf.

The major drenching is unusual for early spring and resulted in Sydney's wettest September day since 1879.

And while drought-affected inland regions welcomed the rain, two confirmed tornadoes touched down on the western slopes on Wednesday afternoon — one near Caragabal about 2:30pm and a second north-west of Young an hour later.

How often does Australia see tornadoes?

Estimating the average number of tornadoes each year in Australia is challenging due to our vastness and low population density.

Tornadoes can only be documented when sighted, or by examining the damage pattern post event, and the result is many in rural Australia go unnoticed.

Acco

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