By Olivia Day For Daily Mail Australia
Published: 19:19 EDT, 5 April 2022 | Updated: 21:03 EDT, 5 April 2022
Australia's east coast is being battered by the first day of a forecast three-day downpour of up to 500mm of rain.
Sydney and the south coast of NSW were pummelled with torrential rain on Wednesday morning, and the weather radar shows the situation will only get worse with up to 250mm predicted to hit on Thursday alone.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned the deluge will stretch 570km from Gosford to Bega.
'The focus is on coastal NSW from the Hunter to the South Coast,' NSW State Emergency Service Assistant Commissioner Dean Storey said on Tuesday.
There are fears of flash flooding in rivers and catchments already saturated by previous rainfalls.
A powerful rain bomb has descended on Sydney bringing wild winds and heavy downpours as a tropical cyclone wreaks havoc across the east coast (pictured, Sydney commuters on Friday)
Weatherzone predicts the heaviest rain will hit the southern half of NSW's coast and ranges with 100 to 200mm expected to fall over the next 96 hours (pictured is a weather map)
The bureau late on Tuesday issued a flood watch for a number of rivers and catchments. The Central and Southern Coast will remain high on the watch list which includes the Macquarie and Queanbeyan rivers.
The BoM said heavy rain was forecast for the Illawarra, parts of the South Coast and the Southern Tablelands and would extend to inland areas.
The excessive downpours are expected to extend towards metropolitan Sydney, the Hunter and Central Tablelands from Thursday.
Many residents awoke to a wet and dreary morning on Wednesday, as thousands struggled to stay dry during their commute to work or school.
Meteorologist Ailsa Schofield said heavy falls would continue into Friday.
Many residents awoke to a wet and dreary morning on Wednesday as thousands struggled to stay dry during their commute to work or school (pictured, a commuter in Sydney on Friday)
The Central and Southern Coast will remain high on authorities watch list which includes the Macquarie and Queanbeyan rivers (pictured is a map showing NSW river conditions)
'On Wednesday we might see rainfall total in excess of 100mm,' Ms Schofield said.
'On Thursday we might see rainfall totals in excess of 200-250mm. On Friday we will see higher rainfall totals in excess of 150mm.'
The weather expert said minor flooding could occur in the Illawarra, South Coast and Far South Coast with the possibility heavy rain could bring renewed flooding.
She said moderate flooding could occur in the Colo River, the Upper Hunter, and the Hawkesbury and Nepean Valley.
Clean-up efforts in northern NSW will be put on hold as flood-weary residents brace for more rain, after suffering through two major flood events in March.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning for heavy rainfall for large swathes of the NSW Coast with the deluge to affect residents from Bega to Gosford (pictured, a weather warning issued for Wednesday)
'There remains the risk of some rainfall impacting the North Coast and Northern Rivers areas which have seen so much rainfall in recent times,' Assistant Commissioner Storey warned.
Weatherzone on Tuesday predicted the heaviest rain will hit the southern half of NSW's coast, with 100 to 200mm expected to fall over the next 96 hours.
It predicted a deepening low pressure trough exacerbated by an onshore airstream would trigger widespread rain and thunderstorms over both NSW and Victoria.
'This surge of wind and swell are being caused by a tropical cyclone moving south across the Coral Sea and pressing against a high pressure system in the southern Tasman Sea,' Weatherzone forecasters said.
This weather map shows how areas from Grafton down to the South Coast and Southern Tablelands districts could receive more than 100 mm of rain this week
The bureau said heavy rain was forecast for the Illawarra, parts of the South Coast and the Southern Tablelands and would extend to inland areas (pictured, pedestrians in Brisbane)
Flood warnings are currently in place for the Richmond, Orara, Paroo, Culgoa, Birrie, Bokhara, Narran, and Snowy Rivers as well as the Macintyre River in Queensland.
Residents living in the southern half of the Sunshine State have been told to brace for heavy downpours and thunderstorms between Thursday and the weekend.
Tropical Cyclone Fili is understood to be behind some of the rain fall which has travelled southwest from New Caledonia, an island located in the South Pacific.
Queensland is also due to be battered with large swells that the weather bureau warn could cause erosion along the coast.
The wet and wild conditions are believed to have been triggered by the tropical cyclone colliding with a high pressure system forming in the south Tasman Sea.
Clean-up efforts in northern NSW will be put on hold as flood-weary residents brace for more rain, after suffering through two flood events in March (pictured, March floods in Byron Bay)
Brisbane Weather Chief David Taylor said the most recent cyclone warning brought a threat of more wild weather as the Easter school holidays began.
'There will be one, possibly two systems that will develop into a cyclone, it just boils down to timing,' he told the Courier Mail.
Queensland and NSW aren't the only states being pummelled by wild weather.
Heavy rains and gale-force winds cut off power to towns across eastern Victoria and closed a major highway with flooding.
Melbourne is in for a cloudy week with possible showers and temperatures in the low 20s while Brisbane will be warmer but could also see scattered showers.
Friday: Shower or two developing. Min 20 Max 27
Saturday: Partly cloudy. Min 14 Max 25
Sunday: Partly cloudy. Min 13 Max 23
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Min 13 Max 24
Friday: Mostly sunny. Min 14 Max 26
Saturday: Mostly sunny. Min 15 Max 27
Sunday: Partly cloudy. Min 17 Max 28
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Min 13 Max 24
Friday: Partly cloudy. Min 13 Max 23
Saturday: Partly cloudy. Min 16 Max 26
Sunday: Possible shower. Min 17 Max 26
Thursday: Mostly sunny. Min 8 Max 20
Sunday: Shower or two. Min 14 Max 24
Thursday: Rain. Possible heavy falls. Min 12 Max 17
Sunday: Partly cloudy. Min 11 Max 22
Thursday: Rain. Possible heavy falls. Min 17 Max 22
Sunday: Shower or two. Min 17 Max 24
Thursday: Showers increasing. Min 20 Max 28
Sunday: Shower or two. Min 19 Max 28
Thursday: Partly cloudy. Min 26 Max 34
Friday: Partly cloudy. Min 26 Max 34
Saturday: Partly cloudy. Min 26 Max 34
Sunday: Partly cloudy. Min 25 Max 34
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