A fisherman in a boat near Stanwell Tops, 57km south of Sydney, captured the moment a terrifying wind tunnel shot from a dark cloud into the ocean on Tuesday.
'It is just the cloud refuelling isn't it?' the fisherman is hearing joking, as the water spout extended into the sky.
A vortex continued to churn for several seconds before its tail began to fade and the funnel was slowly sucked up into the cloud.
The weather phenomenon, generated by strong winds, came as wild weather lashed the state's coastline.
Ten metre waves pummelled beaches across Sydney on Tuesday, with the peak height reaching 11.6 metres overnight.
The chilly weather is set to barrel into the weekend, with a low pressure system and troughs sweeping strong winds, large waves and heavy showers across eastern NSW from Wednesday.
Sydney is unlikely to warm until Saturday, which would make this the longest spell below 18C in several years.
A severe weather warning is currently in place for the Byron, Coffs, Macquarie, Hunter, Sydney, Illawarra, Batemans and Eden Coasts.
Surf and swell conditions are expected to be hazardous in those regions for coastal activities such as rock fishing, boating, and swimming.
RC