Parts of NSW have received more than their average monthly rainfall in a few hours this weekend as wild weather hits the eastern parts of the state.
A severe weather warning was issued on Sunday for heavy rains and strong winds in Sydney, Illawarra and parts of Hunter and Central Tablelands.
Weather meteorologist Andrew Schmidt said Shellharbour, in the Ilwarwarra region, had received 193mm of rain in 24 hours at 9am on Saturday morning, 3.2 times its monthly average.
Nowra received 126 mm of rain in the same period of time, almost 1.9 times its average monthly rainfall.
Schmidt said the rain is likely to continue until Tuesday, with a coastal trough on the east coast and a low-pressure system that will deepen driving the flood.
“East Coast lows are common during the winter months around Sydney, so it’s not too uncommon to see this kind of thing in the region,” he said.
“There are a lot of synoptic weather patterns, which means there’s a lot of humidity in the atmosphere.
“We also have a low level of higher level, which you wouldn’t see on weather maps, which is bringing even more moisture to the system.”
The heaviest rains are likely to arrive in the Illawarra region on Sunday, with Shellharbour expecting to exceed 100 mm.
Parts of southern Sydney were hit hard by heavy showers on Saturday, with Wattamolla in the Royal National Park, Darkes Forest and Lucas Heights, all receiving more than 200 millimeters of rain in 24 hours.