Trees crashed down all over Orange at the height of a violent storm that also cut power to homes on Tuesday afternoon.
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State Emergency Service [SES] crews attended 15 jobs from 5pm-9pm to clean up the storm damage.
Orange City SES controller Kim Stevens said the damage was widespread [as captured by readers].
“Most of those call outs were fallen trees and limbs,” he said.
“A lot of them were blocking roads.
“Icely Road, just out of town, was the longest job we were out on.
“We’ve got everything clear now,” he said on Wednesday.
Wentworth Golf Club was one areas of the city hit hard by the storm.
Club professional Todd Brakenridge said six trees were brought down, the largest near the 12th hole.
Staff and a group of members swung into action on Wednesday to clean up the mess ahead of the club’s open tournament starting Saturday.
“We’ll be right. Everything will be cleaned up in time for the [tournament],” he said.
“We’ve got a dad’s army cleaning it up.”
Essential Energy manager community relations northern, David Crough said four properties in Orange were left without power after the storm caused widespread damage to the electricity network in the Central West.
“The storm has caused a large amount of damage to the electricity network over a wide area in the Central West, including blown fuses, faulty transformers, fallen power lines and broken power poles,” he said.
The Bureau of Meteorology reported wind gusts of up to 82 km/h at the Orange Airport weather station at 5pm.
The temperature in Orange plummeted from 28.3 degrees at 4pm to 16.8 degrees an hour later.
While the thunderstorm was violent it only produced 6.2 millimetres of rain in the 24 hours to 9am Wednesday.
The bureau is forecasting a return of the storms on Thursday.
It said a top temperature should be 29 degrees with an overnight low of 12 degrees.
“[There is] a high, 70 per cent, chance of showers, most likely in the afternoon,” it said.
“A thunderstorm is likely in the afternoon and early evening.”
The temperature will rise to 33 degrees on Friday with a 40 per cent chance of rain.
On the weekend a top of 31 degrees is forecast on Saturday ahead of a cool change for Sunday.
David Fitzsimons
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
I am a senior journalist at the Central Western Daily concentrating on council, government and real estate issues. Before moving to Orange I filled senior roles at the Daily Telegraph, Daily Telegraph-Mirror and the Daily Mirror in Sydney. They included being an editor, news editor, chief of staff and reporter.
