Thousands of people remain without power after a wild storm wreaked havoc on Moree and much of the shire on Thursday afternoon.
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The storm tore through town at about 5pm, with heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 109 kilometres per hour causing widespread destruction throughout town.
The gale force winds ripped trees out of the ground all over town and blew a number of power lines down, forcing Essential Energy to cut power to most of Moree. Some parts of Moree were without power from mid-afternoon on Thursday and most of the town was in the dark well into the night.
As a result, McDonald's and KFC were packed on Thursday night, and a number of takeaway restaurants that had power in Frome Street were flat-out as residents flocked for dinner, unable to cook at home due to the power outage.
About 3000 homes and businesses remained without power on Friday morning. A number of businesses in the CBD, including Moree Plains Shire Council, have been forced to close for the day due to the power outage.
There were multiple trees down in the CBD, with one falling on top of two cars outside Beauty Matters in Balo street, while a big branch came down on the corner of Heber Street and Wesley Lane, bringing down a power line across the road.
The heavy rain saw flash flooding in streets and parks throughout Moree, with some people reporting up to 100mm of rain in less than two hours.
Residents in Calgorm and Tycannah streets recorded 100mm in their rain gauges, while people in Boston and Auburn streets received about 80mm and other parts of town saw at least 60mm of rain.
"I had 80mm in Auburn Street, my yard was like a sea front and back, I lost my TV antenna for the second time in three weeks and a tree on the northern side of my home split and is now resting on the roof," one resident Lewis Macey said.
Some rainfall readings may not be 100 per cent accurate as the rain was coming in sideways during the worst of the storm.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), Moree Aero had only recorded 12mm by 8pm.
Another storm during the early hours of Friday morning brought more rain, which continued into the day.
At 9am Moree Aero had recorded a total of 48.8mm, according to the BoM.
Unfortunately many villages surrounding Moree, including Garah, Boomi, Mungindi and North Star missed out on the rain, receiving only dust storms and power outages.
More storms are predicted for Friday and Saturday, with showers expected to continue until Sunday.
According to NSW Incident Alerts, severe storms are expected to hit Moree again on Friday afternoon, bringing heavy rainfall, damaging wind gusts and large hailstones.
Moree Plains Shire Council workers were busy cleaning up on Friday morning.
Council advises residents to stay away from fallen trees and storm damage. For safety, people should stay at least eight metres, or two car lengths, away from fallen power lines at all times.
If you see fallen power lines please call Essential Energy immediately on 13 20 80.