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Tornado lashes NSW town of Armidale

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The NSW city of Armidale and Sydney's west and southwest are cleaning up after a storm overnight.
Camera IconThe NSW city of Armidale and Sydney's west and southwest are cleaning up after a storm overnight. Credit: AAP

Weather conditions will improve over the weekend after severe weather battered parts of NSW, including a tornado overnight in Armadale and "significant" hail storms in western Sydney.

A four kilometre line of damage was caused when the tornado struck the Northern Tablelands region at about 10pm on Thursday, with roofs ripped off houses and cars flipped over.

Emergency services responded to more than 600 requests for assistance as severe storms moved across the state over the past 24 hours, with 200 calls from Armidale alone.

It is the second tornado to hit the state over the past few weeks, after another tore through Bathurst in September.

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Two tornadoes in a matter of weeks was "very unusual", Bureau of Meteorology's Agata Imielska says.

While they are the "most extreme" form of severe weather, Ms Imielska said it was important to keep an eye on warnings for intense rainfall, damaging winds and hail.

"We have been particularly concerned heading into this storm season with that strong risk and also the flood risk," she said.

The "very dangerous" thunderstorm that moved across Western Sydney on Thursday night caused significant damage to roofs and areas of flash flooding.

"At this point in time we can't confirm whether that was a tornado or broader damage associated with hail," Ms Imielska said.

Hail was responsible for much of the property damage across the state, NSW SES chief superintendent Greg Swindells said on Friday.

"The last week has certainly been a reminder as to what we can expect this year," he said.

Earlier NSW State Emergency Service Superintendent Scott Dodson said while the storms have been severe no one was hurt.

"We had over 5000 people evacuated but fortunately zero injuries, which is a great result," he told Nine Network on Friday.

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