New South Wales is bracing for more wild weather including up to 150mm of rain over the next four days and flash flooding, as the Bureau of Meteorology warns of dangerous conditions across large parts of the state.
The bureau on Tuesday afternoon warned NSW could be hit by severe weather in the coming days, with coastal regions and adjacent slopes from the Hunter down to the south coast expected to be the hardest hit.
Areas still recovering from recent flooding could also be impacted, including the north of the state. The NSW State Emergency Service was monitoring developments in the northern rivers.
Sydney can expect large amounts of rainfall, with parts of the city again at risk of flash flooding.
The coastal trough developing on Wednesday will deliver an expected 50mm of rain from the upper Hunter into the greater Sydney area and down the south coast.
Ailsa Schofield, a hydrologist at BoM, says the trough will intensify by the end of the week.
“We’re really expecting to see this trough intensify on Thursday where we’re expecting to see between 50 to 150mm of widespread rainfall in the same central and southern coastal areas of NSW,” Schofield said.
The chance of showers and possibly severe thunderstorms with heavy #rain and large #hail in parts of #NSW over the coming days. Check your local forecast and monitor warnings, some locations could see up to 100mm of rain on Thursday. Forecasts & Warnings: https://t.co/tfh9Lk79fM pic.twitter.com/9nVYDVOBHn
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) April 5, 2022
Schofield said the state could see the same amount of rain again on Friday and authorities were concerned the extra rain could cause dangerous flash floods because most of the ground was already saturated and many of the state’s dams were full.
“The catchments are very wet and it won’t take very much rainfall for us to see flash flooding or river rises,” Schofield said.
“We, therefore, expect potentially dangerous road conditions and the potential for further landslips. So I’d remind the communities to stay safe [and] up to date with local information.”
There will be minor to moderate flood warnings expected for the upper Hunter, the Hawksbury Nepean River, the Colo River, and large swathes of the south coast including the Illawarra region, she said.
Dean Storey, assistant commissioner of the NSW SES, said the service was monitoring the situation and “deploying additional assets” to high-risk areas. He asked people to get prepared, be aware of any risks in their area and stay up to date via the weather bureau and SES websites, and local ABC radio.
“If you’re impacted by the storm or flood events, know what you would do and where you would go if you need to evacuate your home quickly,” he said. “As noted, roads may be flooded and damaged already.”
Storey said some communities could be cut off by flooded roads. “Plan your trips accordingly, avoid unnecessary travel and never drive through flood waters,” he said.
“Time and again, SES and other emergency services need to respond to people who’ve made poor safety decisions by choosing the drive through floodwaters.”
