A NSW town is mopping up after a wild storm brought winds of 100km/h and left it looking “like a bomb has gone off”.

Carinda, near Tamworth, was hit hard in ferocious storms that hit across central-west NSW and Sydney on Sunday.

It came as the NSW State Emergency Service warned that more severe storms were forecast for the state’s north-east on Monday.

“We are expecting severe thunderstorms, predominantly today up in the north-east of the state. And we are working with communities there to ensure they are aware of the current risk,” NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Nicole Hogan said.

Carinda’s pub, pizza shop and general store were damaged on Sunday, and multiple houses left without electricity as winds brought down power poles.

Walgett Shire Mayor Jasen Ramien said the lightning and winds had brought fires to the region before the downpour.

“From all reports, Carinda is in a fair mess,” he told ABC News Breakfast on Monday.

“There’s been damage to multiple buildings right across the town … homes damaged, shops.”

Ramien said he had declared a disaster in the area, opening residents up to state government support.

Local man Chris Isaac said the community of about 100 was devastated by the storm’s impact.

“It’s a mess, looks like a bomb has gone off,” he told the ABC.

“House next door lost its roof. Bill over the back, he’s lost his house pretty much. He’s not looking real good.

“Water tank from the other side of town rolled up against my back fence, bits of tin just everywhere.”

Josh Black, the mayor of Dubbo – which is about 250 kilometres south of Carinda – described scenes from the town as “devastation”.

Hogan said crews were focused on a clean-up in Carinda on Monday.

“Carinda … has been significantly impacted with quite a number of buildings, both public and private, having their roofs destroyed,” she told ABC TV.

“We are actually working with the community and other emergency services to go in and support the community in the impact of what has actually occurred overnight. And really working with residents as to what is required, undertaking immediate repairs – and certainly ensuring the community is safe.”

SES volunteers across NSW responded to 278 calls for emergency support on Sunday night and Monday morning.

About a third were from metropolitan Sydney and the rest from central parts of NSW, where residents endured a night of heavy winds, lightning and rain.

Dubbo was among other areas in central-west NSW, including Bathurst and Mudgee, where there was heavy rain and multiple calls for emergency help.

Power was still out in some areas on Monday, while cars were damaged in Sydney after the storm dislodged a steel road plate.

Transport for NSW secretary Josh Murray apologised to motorists on Monday morning, saying they would be compensated.

“It was a nightmare,” Murray told 2GB.

“Let me apologise to anyone whose car was damaged or anyone else who was caught up for about two hours.”

The Bureau of Meteorology said 20 to 40 millimetres of rain fell across areas of NSW overnight. Victoria also had heavy rain.

“We did see some isolated higher falls pushing up to 50 or 60 millimetres, most notably through parts of north-eastern Victoria, the top total between nine o’clock Sunday morning and six o’clock Monday,” senior meteorologist Miriam Bradbury said.

Bradbury said the worst of the storms had likely passed, with conditions generally forecast to ease across the country.

In October, 20,000 residents of Broken Hill in far western NSW were left without power for almost a week after storms tore through the town and downed transmission towers.

Back-up generators failed to carry the load of the town, forcing the state government to intervene and provide compensation for businesses and residents.

Investigations are ongoing into potential failures by network operator Transgrid.

-with AAP