Storm batters NSW Central Coast

Storms have battered the NSW Central Coast with close to 400 shoppers evacuated from a mall after heavy hail caused parts of the roof to collapse.

Shops at the Bateau Bay mall were cleared about midday on Thursday with flooding in two of its stores.

The SES received more than 370 calls and performed four flood rescues as hail blanketed roads and heavy rain caused minor flooding.

Nearly 1200 houses lost power for about two hours.

The worst of the weather had passed and further hail was increasingly unlikely on the Central Coast, weather bureau spokeswoman Katarina Kovacevic said on Thursday evening.

However, severe thunderstorms could still hit the far north coast.