Drivers returning from holidays over the long weekend are being warned to be cautious on the roads after the state was battered by heavy rain overnight.
The Anzac Day long weekend brought rain across much of the state, the worst of the falls occurring in the state’s north and north-west. But the heaviest rain was recorded in Marrickville, which notched up 51 millimetres of rain since 9am yesterday. In the same period, Cronulla recorded 43 millimetres.
Small coastal storms forming over Middle Harbour.Credit: Nick Moir
The NSW State Emergency Service recorded 64 incidents state-wide since 7pm on Saturday, with 14 of those occurring in Sydney. Most of those were leaking roofs or fallen trees.
“This wet weather started at the Anzac Day long weekend,” said Miriam Bradbury, senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology. “Through Anzac Day, we saw a low-pressure trough moving through western NSW. It was combined with a low pressure system in the upper atmosphere [that can] really enhance the rain, enhance the thunderstorms happening at the surface.”
“There is that risk today of the heavy falls that are going to lead to flash-flooding, so water moving over roads [causing] dangerous driving conditions which is really unfortunately timed … when everybody is just coming home from long weekend trips.”
Early on Sunday morning, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for heavy rain and damaging winds in the Hunter and Mid-North Coast regions, stretching from Gosford to just south of Port Macquarie. It warned of rain that could lead to flash-flooding and wind gusts up to 90km/h.
Rain is forecast to continue for most of Sunday as Sydney reaches a top of 22 degrees.
“The forecast for the rest of today is the low-pressure trough will persist – it’s expected to deepen and continue to draw in moisture and cause showers and thunderstorms,” Bradbury said.
Read the full article here
