Lightning strikes Freshwater, northern Sydney. Picture: Haig Gilchrist Source: Supplied

Humid conditions are fuelling the extreme weather, with fierce winds and driving rain tearing across the north and east of Australia.

Emergency services are already struggling to respond to calls for help after road floodings, damage to houses and trees coming down over the past week.

Storm chasers catch up with the lightning near Cecil Plains on the Eastern Darling Downs. Picture: South Brisbane Storms Source: Facebook

Angry skies at Washpool in the Hunter Valley. Source: Facebook

Sydney has experienced a record stretch of storms, after it was battered for seven days straight, beating the five-day previous record from December 2007.

While there is a small respite today, tomorrow will bring similar humidity, unsettled showers and storms, mostly in the evening, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Thursday will bring a reinforcement of the weather system hitting NSW, with 20-40mm of rain expected in the east.

“Friday will see moderate to heavy falls and storms,” a BOM forecaster told news.com.au. “But much of the instability will have cleared eastwards by Monday.

“It’s unusual that this has persisted for more than a week.

“Since the start of December there’s been a new weather pattern in the north and east of Australia.

Office workers look on as another storm washes over the Gold Coast. Picture: Adam Head Source: News Corp Australia

Storm clouds over Surfers Paradise. Picture: Jerad Williams Source: News Corp Australia

Disappointed holiday-makers have had to stay away from beaches including the popular Surfers Paradise. Picture: Jerad Williams Source: News Corp Australia

MORE: Why the storms keep coming

“Lots of humidity is feeding into a low pressure trough from the north of Australia.”

Victoria appears to have escaped the stormy weather, while Western Australia is facing unusually high temperatures.

Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast are all expected to experience heavy rainfall, with the possibility of damaging winds and hail.

Storms swept across southeast Queensland on Monday, leaving thousands of homes without power, but Brisbane was spared the worst of the weather after taking a beating from a supercell storm late last month, which caused an estimated $1 billion worth of damage.

Earlier, waterspouts were spotted in Hervey Bay, while Higgins Storm Chasing posted a video of a funnel cloud to Facebook.

A roof was damaged at Gayndah, about 350km north of Brisbane, trees were blown down in the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane, and 105mm of rain fell at Carbrook, south of the capital, in an hour.

Households in Queensland and NSW have grown used to ominous clouds. Source: News Corp Australia

Flooding in the Brisbane suburb of Wooloongabba. Picture: Marc Robertson Source: News Corp Australia

A car stuck on a flooded road in Hornsby, north of Sydney, as trees were brought down. Source: Supplied

Thousands of lightning strikes were also recorded across the southeast of the state.

In NSW, emergency services spent today responding to more than 1200 calls for help received since Sunday after the start of December brought non-stop wild weather.

Authorities have been racing to assist people in trouble after rain, wind and hail brought down trees in Penrith and Hornsby.

Jill Chapman, 78, was thrown backwards when lightning struck her backyard on Sydney’s northern beaches yesterday, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The retiree was at her sink peeling potatoes when she heard a crack and was thrown against the wall. Paramedics treated her for shock.

Brisbane will face relentless driving rain throughout the weekend. Source: News Corp Australia

Lightning recorded on a GoPro camera at Morayfield, southeast Queensland. Picture: Jacob Grams Source: Supplied

The storms have caused more than a week of havoc at Sydney Airport, with passengers reporting delays and chaos at the terminal.

On Sunday, more than 10,000 properties around Sydney’s north and west lost power.

SES spokeswoman Nat McLean told 702 ABC Sydney that many volunteers were exhausted.

“They’ve been going now for quite a few days and we needed to bring in some extra help for them,” she said. “They’re still doing a lot of clean-up. We’ve had about 736 jobs from the beginning of [Sunday’s] event.

“It’s mainly leaking roofs, smashed tiles, trees through properties — so it’s been quite a mess.”

SES and NSW Rural Fire Service crews will remain mobilised.