Sydney on track to receive month’s worth of rain in first week of May, bureau warns

Sydney’s Observatory Hill had, by Sunday morning, recorded 92.8mm of rain this month – and was fast approaching the May average of 117.4mm.

The bureau issued a severe weather warning for the Illawarra area, south of Sydney, on Saturday and into Sunday, with residents in Wollongong, Bulli, Port Kembla, Albion Park, Kiama and Huskisson advised to avoid unnecessary travel amid forecasts of heavy rainfall.

Thunderstorms were forecast for the entire north coast of NSW on Sunday, with severe storms likely in the northern rivers.

The NSW SES had responded to 95 calls for emergency assistance, most seeking for sand bags in preparation for flash flooding.

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The service’s spokesperson, Ben Deacon, said 36 of the emergency calls were in the Shoalhaven and Illawarra areas where the severe weather warning was in place.