The storm viewed rolling in over North Head. And now gone. Picture: John Grainger Source: The Daily Telegraph

The eastern suburbs and CBD have been hit with large hail and heavy rain, which rolled in with a thunderstorm, just before 2pm.

Weather experts said the storm had quickly moved from Bankstown, and the south west, to the city and east.

Tourists take shots of the dramatic weather from North Head. Picture: John Grainger

They then headed east to Bondi Beach, where Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were on the latest stage of their tour of Australia.

Rain hits Central Station. Picture: Twitter

Lightning struck signalling equipment at Milson’s Point, in the city’s north, leading to delays on trains heading into the city from the northern shore.

Westbound services were also affected.

Sydneysiders were quick to take to Twitter to post pictures of the hail, with one user describing the hailstones as being the size of chickpeas.

Michael Logan of the Bureau of Meteorology said severe thunderstorm warnings would remain in place for the northern suburbs of Sydney, as well as the Hunter Valley and the north coast of the state, for several hours.

Areas that could be affected include Newcastle, Gosford, Cessnock, Maitland, Sydney, Liverpool, Penrith and Parramatta.

It is expected to move off the coast by 3pm.

The State Emergency Service has received more than 30 calls for help as a result of the storm, including one call to Petersham Police Station after reports of roof damage.

It follows a storm that hammered the south and south-west parts of Sydney last night, bringing down trees, lifting roofs and cutting power to thousands of homes.

Hailstones after the storm today. Pic: Alexandra Adoncello via Twitter

The storm cell moves in over CentennialPpark. Picture: John Appleyard

Capture any good pix of the storm? Send them to us @ news@dailytelegraph.com.au

Yesterday more than 10 shops at Carnes Hill Marketplace in Sydney’s west suffered damage when the storm swept through in the afternoon.

Some sustained major damage after roofs collapsed, bringing down air conditioning vents and electrical wires and causing flooding.

Carnes Hill Marketplace Newsagent owner Natalie Nguyen said they ended up ankle deep in water when part of their roof collapsed from the heavy rain about 5pm.

“I was talking to a customer about the change in weather. A few seconds later a customer told me the roof was leaking,” Ms Nguyen said.

“And then 10 seconds later the whole roof collapsed. All the water came crashing down.”

“It happened so quickly, I was so stunned. I had to get everyone out of the store. We were worried the other roof panels would collapse.”

She said they estimate that more than $70,000 worth of stock has been destroyed including cards, magazines, Christmas stock and gifts. They have also lost trade, forced to close early last night and the whole of today.

“This is the worst I’ve seen,” she said.

“There was a little bit of hail, but mainly really heavy rain. It flooded within a few minutes.

“I haven’t seen that much water all at once.”

Owner of deli-licious catering Marianna Butros said she was trapped in the store when the roof collapsed and was helped by a worker from nearby CTC – Cigarettes, Tobacco, Cigars.

“Water was starting to leak in one corner and then it came all along the shop. One thing at a time started to collapse and I was stuck inside,” Ms Butros said.

“The man from the cigarette shop got me out otherwise the air conditioner would have fallen on me.”

Another store that sustained major damage was K’s Kebabs.

Owner Denis Chimen said his parents were working in the store at the time and there were about four customers.

“From what they’ve told me the water started rushing through the roof,” Mr Chimen said.

“They got the customers out just in time.”

“The ceilings destroyed, all the electrical wiring. They’ll probably have to replace the whole thing.”