Emergency services scrambled to dozens of callouts when the storm struck about 4.40pm, with damaging winds, flash flooding and hail causing significant damage in a destructive short, sharp episode.

Winds of a phenomenal 158km/h hit Parkes Airport over a five-minute period while 32mm of rain hammered down in an hour, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

In what appeared to be a narrow band the storm passed through, some areas were much worse hit than others - among them the Parkes CBD and to the east of the town.

Incredible footage and photos of the destruction didn't take long to reach social media.

Some residents claimed they had 50mm to 80mm of rain within 20 minutes, others said they received 100mm in total for the day.

One long-term resident and Parkes councillor Bill Jayet said it was the worst storm he's ever experienced in Parkes.

Another resident, Helen Magill, suffered devastating damage to her property located about 10km east of the town.

"When Parkes makes the news we always know it's something big and this one scored 10s all round - 10 for noise, 10 for fear factor and 10 for damage to our little precinct of neighbourhood farms all around us," she posted on Facebook on Sunday.

"Pretty safe to say we were in the eye of the storm... [We're] grateful to our beautiful neighbours who checked in on us.

"We lost quite a lot of livestock in devastating ways from drowning and having limbs amputated through flying debris to sheer fright.

"Sheds strewn across paddocks and down laneways up to one kilometre away, trees uprooted everywhere and stripped all along the creek, neighbours windows and doors shattered, and powerlines and poles down along our road."

The area lost power for about 36 hours.

A number of businesses and facilities were forced to close as staff and professionals cleaned up the mess left behind - some are still closed, others reopening days later.

The entrance to Parkes Woolworths became a waterfall as water poured through the roof, causing it to partially collapse.

The Parkes Library and Cultural Centre, including the Country Universities Centre, will remain closed until Monday, January 18 while flood damage is repaired.

Roads were also closed because of flooding and/or significant water damage, including the Billabong Creek crossing on Eugowra Road and the Clarinda Street/East Street intersection after flash flooding lifted the bitumen.

SES volunteers from Parkes, Peak Hill, Forbes and Cowra along with Parkes Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters, RFS volunteers and Parkes Shire Council were dealing with the calls as fast as they could.

"The SES has been inundated with calls and are working through them as quickly and as safely as we can," a Lachlan NSW SES spokesperson said at the time.

On Saturday evening, council asked residents to avoid Wellington Road and Lorking Street. East Street was open by then but was under traffic control and repair because of the significant damage.

Parkes recorded more rain later that evening, bringing the town's official total for the day (recorded at the airport) to 52mm. That figure differs, however in other locations.

This was all on top of what fell the day before, 20.8mm before 9am on Saturday at the airport.

Six days in and the town's total is already at 82.8mm.

Residents and council workers have been busy clearing debris and trees from their properties and roadways since Saturday, and council responding to burst water mains.

The Parkes Waste Facility has been accepting green waste and storm damage material free of charge since the storm and will continue to until close of business on Friday.

For those who can't get their waste to the tip, they can safely pile the green waste on their verge and council crews will carry out collections up until this Friday.

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