It has been a week of two halves in NSW, with record-breaking heat giving way to widespread rain and storms.
A typical summertime weather pattern caused hot north-westerly winds to filter across the state ahead of an approaching low pressure trough earlier in the week.
Temperatures soared on Tuesday and Wednesday and some areas had their hottest day or two since last summer.
The hot and windy conditions also resulted in elevated fire danger ratings and some of the season’s first total fire bans. While this type of weather pattern is typical at this time of year, there were some standout numbers amidst the heat.
Some coastal locations had their hottest December night on record on Tuesday night, while Goulburn had its hottest December night in at least 27 years.
Maximum temperatures reached the low forties in the west and high thirties through eastern districts.
A high of 38 degrees at Cessnock in the Hunter on Tuesday was partly to blame for an out of control bushfire that prompted an Emergency Warning and required assistance from water-bombing aircraft.
After two days of intense heat, most of the state will have a cooler and wetter end to the week.
The broad and slow-moving trough of low pressure will trigger showers and thunderstorms in most districts as it crosses the state today and on Friday.
Today, showers are likely to affect most districts and storms will develop in the north west.
Parts of the Upper Western District may receive falls in the range of 20 to 40mm, while some locations in central NSW could get 10mm to 20mm.
On Friday, the trough will gradually move towards the east allowing rain and storms to affect most parts of the state once again, except the far west.
Widespread falls of 5mm to 10mm are likely and some areas could receive heavier totals with storms.
Some of the storms during the next 48 hours may become severe, so be sure to keep up to date with the latest warnings.
Drier conditions will return over the weekend as the trough moves offshore into the Tasman Sea.
