Minor to major flooding is developing across a broad area of NSW this week as heavy rain and thunderstorms spread across the state.
A large mass of humid air has been causing rain and storms over NSW and several other states in central and eastern Australia during the past week.
Now, a transient low pressure system is interacting with this moisture-laden air mass, resulting in more widespread and heavy rain, along with more thunderstorms.
Rain from this system started to fall across NSW on Wednesday and will continue across most districts on Thursday.
The wet and stormy weather will contract to the eastern half of the state on Friday, before becoming more confined to the south and southeast over the weekend.
This week's multi-day deluge will bring enough rain to cause flooding from the WA Interior across to Australia east coast, inundating roads and rivers across a region spanning some 2500 km in length.
The current harvest will certainly be affected, but how much will depend on localised falls.
The rain will be falling over already saturated ground in some areas of NSW, which will enhance runoff and exacerbate the risk of flooding.
The combination of heavy rain and saturated catchments means that major flooding is a high risk for some areas of the state, particularly in the Northern Slopes and adjacent ranges.
Major flooding could also extend into parts of central NSW and up into the Darling Downs and Granite Belt in Queensland.
Parts of northern and eastern NSW have been wet in recent weeks and could see localised daily falls exceeding 50-100mm in the next 24-48 hours, particularly with thunderstorms on Thursday and Friday.
Numerous weather warnings and flood alerts will be issued and updated across the state by the Bureau during the next few days.
Make sure you stay up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings in your area.
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