Heavy rainfall expected across much of the east as heatwave finally breaks.
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00:00Heavy rainfall is on the way for eastern parts of New South Wales and northern Tasmania today with severe
00:06thunderstorms a risk through eastern New South Wales including around the Sydney area. Now over the last 24 hours
00:12we have seen significant areas of thunderstorms through southeastern parts of Australia, particularly through inland parts of New South Wales and
00:20central Victoria. As you can see from our recent radar imagery though, a lot of that activity has eased back.
00:26We're just currently seeing a few showers about the northern New South Wales coast and through northern parts of Tasmania.
00:33Now through northern Tasmania in particular that rain has been a little bit more persistent and a little bit heavier.
00:38It has actually triggered a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall through those northwestern parts of the state.
00:44Through the rest of today it is possible
00:46we could see six hourly rainfall totals between 35 and 50 millimeters in this warning area with isolated higher falls.
00:54But the broader risk area for today actually is driven by thunderstorms. If we look at today's thunderstorm forecast
01:01we can see that storms are possible across broad stretches of eastern Australia once again.
01:07Much of Tasmania should see a storm-free day as well as Melbourne and western Victoria.
01:12But severe storms, the yellow and red areas on our map, are possible across southern inland Queensland,
01:19much of eastern New South Wales and the eastern Victorian ranges. Now heavy rainfall is the main risk with any severe
01:26thunderstorms. Damaging wind gusts and large hail are possible with severe storms, but heavy rain is most likely.
01:33Our key area of focus today is about the central and southern coasts of New South Wales.
01:39Severe storms are likely in these areas marked red on this map. That covers the Sydney metro area, parts of the Hunter, the Illawarra
01:47Shoalhaven, Central Tablelands and parts of the Southern Ranges too.
01:51Those areas are likely to see some of those heavy falls through the course of today.
01:55Communities should remain on high alert for that thunderstorm risk,
01:58checking in regularly with the Bureau for the latest forecasts and possibly warnings through the course of today.
02:06Key risks associated with that rainfall will of course be centered around flooding. Flash flooding could occur very quickly as these storms move through,
02:14which could quickly lead to very dangerous driving conditions.
02:16We may also see trees or tree limbs brought down by heavy rains or strong winds.
02:22As we go into tomorrow, the storm risk continues through eastern Australia.
02:27Severe storms are possible across broad stretches of New South Wales, including the Sydney area once again,
02:33but also covers parts of inland Queensland and northeastern Victoria.
02:38Again tomorrow, the highest risk with severe storms is heavy rainfall,
02:42but we still could see some damaging wind gusts and large hail.
02:46Our rainfall totals over the next few days are really focused through those parts of central and northern New South Wales, as well as northern
02:53parts of Tasmania.
02:55But this rainfall is only out until the end of Friday. The wet weather story doesn't end there though. As we go into the weekend,
03:03we're going to see a fresh burst of moisture being dragged down from northern Australia.
03:08That is likely to drive
03:10significant areas of rain and thunderstorms back across the southeast. On Saturday,
03:15we're likely to see that widespread rain filling out across Victoria, impacting Melbourne as well.
03:21Eventually through the later part of Saturday,
03:23we'll see a low-pressure system developing, starting to direct that rain and moisture across Tasmania with the risk of
03:29significant falls. Now as this rain moves through over the weekend,
03:33we may see some river rises across parts of Tasmania, Victoria and inland New South Wales.
03:38So communities throughout those areas should keep a close eye on the Bureau's website for all forecast and warning updates over the next few days.
03:46We're also posting our updates via our weather app and on our social media. Stay safe, and we'll catch you in the next update.