DRAMATIC scenes unfolded in Tamworth on Tuesday afternoon, when dark and ominous storm clouds rolled into the region.
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Thunderstorms brought heavy and patchy rain, causing some localised flooding in the region.
The city's State Emergency Services (SES) team worked well into the night to shore up homes with sandbags and patch up roofs.
About 14 crew members - almost all of Tamworth's regular volunteers - responded to more than 35 calls for help between 4:30pm and 1am.
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Tamworth SES Acting Unit Commander Vicki Walton said it seemed to be Hillvue, Kingswood, Moonbi and Kootingal that were hardest hit by the downpour.
"It was really all four corners of the compass ... that first round of rain came and then she was on," she said.
Ms Walton said the jobs were split between sandbagging and stopping roofs and windows from leaking.
It's been a hectic three weeks for the local SES team, who have responded to more than 100 jobs in Tamworth alone after summer storms battered the region.
It's taken a toll, but Ms Walton said the volunteers were "here for a reason".
"It's a really great group of people ... we enjoy helping people and we enjoy what we do," she told the Leader.
"Of course you get tired but we know when to keep going and we also know when we need to stop."
The Bureau of Meteorology station (BoM) at Tamworth airport clocked 18.8mm of rain to 9am Wednesday.
Locals across the city recorded more than that in their backyard gauges.
A South Tamworth resident notched 75mm of rain, West Tamworth reportedly got more than 50mm, one North Tamworth local got 68mm, more than 30mm fell in East Tamworth, and a Kingswood home collected 75mm.
The city is just 3mm of rain away from breaking a long-standing December rain record.
Locals reported some road closures overnight, but Tamworth Regional Council has not confirmed which roads were affected.
Authorities have urged people to drive with caution and never enter flood water.
There are several roads closed in the Gunnedah shire after the storm swept through on Tuesday, and updates can be found at Live Traffic NSW.