Up to 30mm possible in next five days in southern NSW

The first system will pass into the state late Friday and into Saturday with rain of between 5-15mm predicted for many areas in southern NSW close to the Murray, and parts of the Riverina and South-West Slopes.

Some towns will get their best rainfall since summer. These places include Gundagai, Deniliquin, Lake Victoria and Hillston, Weatherzone said.

The system is moving across from Western Australia and would probably have died out except for the strong easterly winds feeding moisture into the system as it approaches. The system has brought good rainfall to many coastal areas in the last two days. Bega on the Far South Coast in the last 24 hours has received 32mm - its best rainfall in six months. Moruya recorded 32mm and Narooma 32mm. There was  also good rainfall in the parched Hastings Valley and in the Port Macquarie area. Port  Macquarie recorded 37mm.

To show how dry it has been the normally wet North Coast town of Yamba recorded 39mm - its highest rainfall in eight months.

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A second weather system moving through will bring rain to much of the state on Monday, with some follow up rain from a trough likely to develop off the coast, Weatherzone said. It will mainly initially affect southern parts of the state again with falls up to the central-west, but falls petering out further north. Some of this next rain band  may reach the parched areas of the Upper Hunter.

Weatherzone forecaster Brett Dutschke predicted this second system would also bring between 5-15mm again in southern parts of NSW. The north-west of the state at Wilcannia and Wanaaring may also get some of their best rain in two to three months, but hardly above 5mm.

NSW has just come out of its third driest May on record. Stock feed supplies are running low in most areas and farmers are running out of time to get winter crops underway. It appears at least there is a glimmer of hope for southern crops, which have mostly been dry sown, and also for coastal dairy farms looking to get in forage crops.