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Heavy rain, damaging winds and large surf battering NSW

Ben McBurney, Monday August 18, 2014 - 09:59 AEST

Eastern New South Wales is getting pummelled by heavy rain, damaging wind gusts and large surf as a complex low pressure system impacts the region.

The system drenched the state's Illawarra and South Coast during Sunday and this morning, with widespread falls of 50-100mm across the districts to 9am today. However, about the Illawarra escarpment the rain was even heavier with totals of 100-200mm commonplace, including 154mm at Roberton, the town's heaviest August fall since 1998.

In Sydney, a band of rain on Sunday was followed by another burst this morning, making for a difficult commute to work. The best rain was in the Basin's west and south with Camden recording 108mm over the past 48 hours, its best rain in a year and a half, and for August in 28 years.

An intense low off the coast is spawning smaller-scale lows, whipping up very strong winds and large and powerful surf with waves reaching 4-5 metres.

One of these lows impacted the south coast early this morning, causing wind gusts to reach 91km/h at Kiama at 2:30am.

However, a larger low will be the focus of many eyes today, and has already generated wind gusts of 89km/h at Sydney Airport and 120km/h at Wattamolla. Potentially damaging winds are a risk in the Sydney. Hunter, Illawarra and South Coast districts for the remainder of the day as the low brushes the coast, peaking during the afternoon.

Conditions will begin to ease overnight and into Tuesday as the system speeds off towards New Zealand. However, showers remain a risk throughout the week as an unstable onshore flow persists along the east coast.

- Weatherzone

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A very wet weekend for southeast Qld, northeast NSW

11:48 AEST A prolonged rainfall event is set to bring large totals to parts of NSW and Qld from Saturday, with possible heavy falls and flooding. A low-pressure system in the Coral Sea, a deepening coastal trough and persistent easterlies will bring moisture-laden air into southeast Qld and northeast NSW will bring days of rainfall to the region. While there is not a drop of rain on the radar over southeast Qld and Northeast NSW on Friday morning, the mass of cloud associated with a low in the Coral Sea will enhance rainfall over the weekend.