A Flood Watch and Severe Weather Warning have been issued by the Bureau of Meteorology as a weather system begins to impact large parts of New South Wales and the ACT.
A large slow-moving trough and low pressure system are moving across the region bringing widespread thunderstorms and heavy rain to parts of the state and across Canberra, mostly through Thursday afternoon and into Friday.
While the nature of the system means rainfall totals will vary greatly from area to area, some parts of the region could experience falls that trigger localised flash flooding. This will mainly be associated with thunderstorm activity. In addition, some thunderstorms may become severe, producing strong to destructive winds that could bring down trees and power lines, as well as large or even giant hail.
"Thunderstorms by nature are very localised, quickly forming and moving over a location, so it is vital people remain aware of local conditions and closely monitor the warnings and radar from the Bureau of Meteorology," forecaster Anita Pyne said.
The system may also bring dangerous conditions along beaches and further out to sea.
"We are regularly briefing emergency services in New South Wales and Canberra, and both the NSW/ACT Regional Forecasting Centre and Flood Warning Centre are monitoring the situation," Ms Pyne added.
Full details of current Warnings and Flood Watches are available:
http://www.bom.gov.au/nsw/warnings/
http://www.bom.gov.au/act/warnings/
