Severe winds cause tree falls and traffic disruptions in New South Wales

Severe weather and damaging winds across the Hunter Valley and Newcastle regions caused several disruptions on Monday. In one incident on Nelson Bay Road, motorists rallied to manually clear a large fallen tree that was blocking traffic, preventing the need for emergency services to use a chainsaw. No injuries or crashes were reported in connection with this event.

Additional wind-related issues occurred on the M1 near Cooranbong, where a fallen tree reduced northbound traffic to a single lane, and on Lake Road at Argenton due to downed wires. The Bureau of Meteorology issued warnings for gusts up to 90km/h as a cold front moved across the New South Wales ranges.