The rain finally stopped and the sun came out, but the floodwaters in Sydney’s north-west are still causing havoc.

Potential Range Extension. Identification verified by Tom Davis, NSW Department of Primary Industries. Depth: 2 m.

Australia has had its warmest July on record, the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has said. A BOM report released today shows the country's average July temperature was at its highest in more than 100 years of weather recording.

Wild theories emerged online about what the strange mass could be. Scientist believe the mass was in fact a scud cloud, a type of cloud that appears at low height above ground. It's usually detached and of irregular form.

They are brightly coloured, beautiful and hungry — tropical fish and sea urchins are thriving in southern waters warmed by climate change. But now they are devastating kelp forests already knocked around by marine heatwaves.