Polar blast brings damaging winds, wet weather and snow to parts of Australia’s east and south

Rescue crew clear away a tree knocked over by strong winds in Cessnock, NSW, on Monday. There are severe weather warnings for damaging wind gusts for much of South Australia, NSW and northern Victoria. Photograph: Facebook/Cessnock District Rescue Squad - VRA Rescue NSW

Ferocious winds and heavy rain wreaked havoc across southern and eastern Australia on Monday night, with a polar blast bringing an icy end to autumn.

In Sydney, gusts of up to 90km/h lashed parts of the city on Monday evening, tearing down power poles and tree branches.

The State Emergency Service received 380 requests for assistance across the evening, and thousands of homes remained without power across New South Wales on Tuesday morning. A warning for more damaging winds in northern NSW was issued on Tuesday morning.