By Tom Wark and Farid Farid in Sydney

The operator of a collapsed crane has made a lucky escape while a car driver needed rescuing from floodwaters after a sudden burst of strong winds and heavy rain.

Thousands of people remain without power after a series of wild storms soaked communities in multiple states.

While many storm watchers kept their eyes on the west and the path of Tropical Cyclone Narelle, Australia’s east coast was slammed on Thursday night with more warnings in place for Friday.

Tens of thousands of people lost power in NSW late Thursday, with about 4000 homes still without electricity on Friday morning.

State Emergency Services recorded 400 incidents statewide, including 46 in Dubbo which was badly affected by severe thunderstorms.

Severe winds partially collapsed a crane on a building site in the central west NSW city, with footage on social media showing a crane operator escaping just in time.

The severe storm swept across the state causing chaos for commuters, with trains and Metro services cancelled on Sydney’s north shore.

Emergency crews responded to multiple reports of fallen trees that damaged cars and tangled powerlines.

Fans at Brookvale Oval were forced to take cover before the NRL game between Manly-Warringah and the Sydney Roosters as the ground was inundated.

Wind gusts above 100km/h are forecast on Friday for many southern coastal areas in NSW as the vigorous coastal low continues to impact large swathes of the state.

Destructive winds are likely along much of the coastline before easing over the weekend.

In Victoria, windy conditions have persisted into Friday morning, with southerly gusts of about 90km/h recorded in Melbourne.

Thursday sport was also impacted in the state, with most of the first day of the Sheffield Shield final washed out and Geelong’s home AFL game against Adelaide heavily affected by the wet conditions.

Alpine areas in both states may also experience their first snowstorms for the year, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting blizzard conditions for areas above 1600m on Friday.