Heavy rain and damaging winds are expected to lash large parts of NSW as a storm front moves north.
A severe thunderstorm warning is in place for the remainder of Christmas for the north-west slopes and plains, northern tablelands and parts of the northern rivers, mid-north coast, and upper western forecast districts.
"Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding and damaging winds in the warning area over the next several hours," the Bureau of Meteorology said when it issued the warning at 7.35pm (local time) yesterday.
Residents of towns including Scone, Armidale, Tenterfield, Glen Innes, Inverell, Tamworth, Gunnedah, Moree, Narrabri, Walgett, Mungindi and Lightning Ridge are being warned to batten down the hatches.
A spokesman for the NSW State Emergency Service (SES) said that by 6.30pm the service had received about 50 calls on Christmas Day.
Most of these calls were for help patching up minor property damage and no injuries had been reported, he said.
The SES has warned residents to secure loose items around homes and gardens, keep pets and children indoors during the storm, and keep clear of creeks, storm drains and fallen power lines.
A severe thunderstorm warning for the Hunter region was later cancelled, as was an earlier storm warning for the central tablelands and central west slopes and plains districts.