A tornado has ripped through the town in NSW

Huge tornado sweeps through Australian town destroying a home and smashing through power lines 
At least one home was flattened, powerlines smashed and three people injured
The Bureau of Meteorology warned wild winds and storms could be widespread

At least one home has been destroyed and multiple people injured after a tornado tore through a small town west of Sydney.

Residents in Meadow Flat, which is between Lithgow and Bathurst, were stunned when they looked out their windows on Thursday afternoon to see the twister bearing down on them.

Three people have been injured and there are reports of damage to houses, powerlines and trees around the Clear Creek area, north north-east of Bathurst.

Along with the damaging winds and horizontal rain, residents also reported large hailstones as the tornado swept through the community.

Two locals who filmed the twister from their window watched on as it tore a path of destruction just metres from their house.

'Its just smashed the powerlines. It's coming over here,' a man says.

'Are we alright?' a woman asks.

'Not much you can do about that,' he replies as the tornado moves closer.

Another resident describes the wind tearing off the roof of a house and watching the metal panels being sucked up into the sky.

The storm left a 30km path of destruction as trees were ripped out of the ground with their roots intact and powerlines wiped out.

One resident described how they took shelter in their car as the tornado flattened their house.

The Bureau of Meteorology said earlier this week a massive low pressure system was moving east across the country causing days of drenching rain and wild winds.

'In the first significant storm outbreak of the season, severe thunderstorm warnings are expected with flash flooding a particular risk,' Bureau meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said.

The wildest weather will be on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range as the low pressure trough hits the mountains and is pushed upwards.

'Severe thunderstorms are likely with the risk of hail, damaging winds and heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding,' Ms Bradbury warned.

The Bureau said on Thursday afternoon there was rapid storm activity developing in the Canberra region.

Rainfall in excess of 100mm is expected in inland NSW up to Friday - with rivers expected to break their banks and cause flooding in parts of NSW along with Victoria and Tasmania.