I think I’ll get the bus! Terrifying footage emerges of Manly ferry tipping from side to side in choppy waters as Sydney is pelted by ferocious downpours
- Huge waves batter Sydney ferry service as strong downpours lash Harbour City
- Footage shows the iconic vessels battling their way through rough seas
- Social media users were shocked the service was still running in 100km/h winds
- The east coast low pressure system has brought a deluge of rain and wild winds
Wild winds and huge waves battered Sydney’s ferry service on Tuesday as a huge storm front tore through the Harbour City.
The normally calm and picturesque journey between Circular Quay and Manly turned into a terrifying white-knuckle ride for passengers.
Footage and pictures have emerged showing the iconic vessels tipping from side to side as they crash through rough seas.
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Wild winds and huge waves battered Sydney’s ferry services on Tuesday as a huge storm front tore through the Harbour City
The ferry from Sydney’s Circular Quay to Manly is pictured battling through huge waves
The normally picturesque journey turned into a terrifying white-knuckle ride for passengers
Although a Facebook user who posted video of the rocky voyage described the journey home as ‘fun’, others were horrified.
‘You’re brave on a day like today!’ one person wrote.
Another said: ‘Blimey! Little bit rocky!’
Others couldn’t believe the service was still operating with winds gusts of up to 100km/h recorded this morning.
‘Those ferries are as tough as nails,’ a Facebook user wrote.
‘I am surprised it is running,’ another said.
Pictured: Storm clouds gather over Sydney on Sunday as the city braced for wet and windy weather this week
The Bureau of Meteorology told residents to keep their cars away from trees as the city prepared for wind gusts of up to 90km/h (hail pictured falling in Sydney on July 12)
Eventually conditions became too dangerous and the ferry service was replaced with extra buses to the northern beaches.
The low pressure system brought five-metre swells and torrential rainfall to Sydney, the mid-north coast, the Hunter region, the Illawarra and the south coast of New South Wales.
The Bureau of Meteorology says the miserable weather is expected to stick around until Wednesday evening before the system moves eastwards over the Tasman Sea.
In Sydney, 20mm of rain is expected to fall before the end of Tuesday with a further 5mm set to come tomorrow.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Jane Golding warned New South Wales residents to be vigilant over the next 24 hours.
‘It certainly will not be a good day to go out boating,’ she warned.
‘The landscape is still quite vulnerable at the moment because of the bushfires so do keep an eye out for falling trees and things like that.’
Gale Warnings remain in place for the Byron Coast, Coffs Coast, Macquarie Coast, Hunter Coast, Sydney Coast and Illawarra Coast.
Rough seas at Bronte Beach on Tuesday. Waves of up to five metres are forecast for Sydney as a ferocious east coast low pressure system lashes the Harbour City
Two walkers brave the heavy rain and windy conditions at Bondi on Tuesday morning
Queensland and Melbourne are expected to escape the ferocious east coast low but Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Adam Morgan said weather systems like these can be very unpredictable.
‘As with all east coast lows pinpointing exactly which communities will see the worst of the weather depends on exactly where and how close to the coast, any low pressure centre forms,’ he said.
‘Winds may be strong enough to bring down trees and powerlines and beach conditions will be dangerous right along the coast.
‘These are weather systems that can impact communities through flash flooding, damage to trees and property and through coastal erosion.’