Heavy downpour enveloped the ACT early on Saturday as residents made more than 115 calls for help.
However, no major damage was reported and some events continued as scheduled.
ACT State Emergency Service and Fire and Rescue crews on the ground reported cases of leaking roofs and flooding inside homes.
Rain recorded at Canberra Airport gauges rose from 10mm to 37mm between 5.30am and 9am, the Bureau of Meteorology said.
Members of the Canberra Yacht Club, unbothered by the morning rain, continued sailing on Lake Burley Griffin. Open Day at Canberra Airport also went ahead successfully.
Indoor venues in the city were packed while people continued to move outdoors in protective rain gear.
By afternoon, the bureau had cancelled the severe weather warning for the capital which recorded about 22mm of rain, about half the monthly average of 49.3mm.
Surrounding regions like Perisher Valley and Mount Ginini received more than 37mm.
An ACT Emergency Services spokesperson said the "good news" was rain began to ease later in the day.
The spokesperson said crews had completed half of their jobs by 2.30pm.
Damaging surf warning for coast
The NSW State Emergency Service issued 111 warnings on Friday afternoon.
The bureau's senior forecaster Jake Phillips said showers "weren't as hefty in the south as they were in further north".
Gauges in Bega recorded 41mm of rain, while Merimbula recorded 32mm, and Narooma and Moruya between 22mm and 25mm.
Buoys monitoring conditions off the coast reported waves up to five metres in height.
About 4pm, the bureau reported conditions had eased around the south-east of NSW. However, people heading to the coast were warned of hazardous surf conditions.
"We have another severe weather warning for damaging surf, we've got a fairly large swell impacting the coast," Mr Phillips said.
"If people are heading down to the coast on Sunday, there's still going to be a bit of swell around ... so not the best situation to go swimming or boating."
Places that were most hit by heavy falls were the Sydney and Illawarra regions. A number of stations in those areas picked up between 200 and 300mm in the last day.
"It's well and truly exceeded the average monthly rainfall and just in one day," Mr Phillips said.
Major flood warnings were still in place of Friday evening for parts of the Hawkesbury and Nepean rivers. NSW SES said about 4000 volunteers had responded to more than 3900 incidents across the state.
Sunday forecast
Following a sunny afternoon, some showers and clouds lingered in Canberra on Friday evening.
"Worst of the weather has passed, [Sunday] will be a little bit different," Mr Phillips said.
Showers, if any, will be light and mostly likely in the morning and afternoon with some risk of thunder on the western side, around the Brindabellas.
