Emergency services have warned a major dam in Sydney’s southwest is likely to start spilling on Saturday evening as the state is hit by heavy rain.
About 1:30 p.m., Water NSW said Warragamba Dam – with a capacity of 2,065 gigalitres – was “close to full capacity” and would likely overflow within hours.
The most recent modeling suggests the dam could achieve a discharge rate of around 40 GL per day, if the catch receives the forecast amount of 35mm of rain over the weekend.
WaterNSW said this would be lower than the peak spill in April, which exceeded 200GL per day.
A number of other Greater Sydney dams are also likely to spill, including Cataract, Nepean, Woronora, Tallowa, Greaves Creek, Medlow Bath and Middle Cascades.
About 1:30 p.m., Water NSW said Warragamba Dam – with a capacity of 2,065 gigalitres – was “close to full capacity” and was likely to overflow within a few hours on Saturday.
The Bureau of Meteorology also warned of the risk of severe thunderstorms in several areas of New South Wales, including parts of Sydney, Hunter and Illawarra, with the risk of localized flash flooding from heavy rain.
Parts of the NSW south coast have severe weather warnings as 70-200mm of rain could fall.
Surfing conditions will also be severe, the office predicts. Dangerous surf warnings are in place for the Macquarie, Hunter, Sydney and Illawarra coasts on Saturday, and for the Hunter and Sydney on Sunday.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned of the risk of severe thunderstorms in several areas of New South Wales.
Parts of the NSW south coast have severe weather warnings as 70-200mm of rain could fall.
Parts of the state’s south, including the Illawarra, South Coast, Southern Tablelands and Snowy Mountains, have been issued severe weather warnings, with forecasts of heavy rain and flash flooding.
Rainfall of up to 90mm is expected over just six hours on Saturday in the south of the state, with isolated rainfall of up to 120mm in some areas.
Earlier, a bureau meteorologist said there was a risk of severe thunderstorms in metropolitan Sydney and the Illawarra, which could bring heavy rain that could lead to flash flooding.
Between 20 and 45 mm of rain are expected around Sydney on Saturday, with three to 20 mm expected on Sunday.
Rainfall of up to 90mm is expected over just six hours on Saturday in the south of the state, with possible isolated rainfall of up to 120mm in some areas.
Up to 200mm of rain may have fallen in 24 hours in parts of the south of the state and a flood warning may be issued, the meteorologist said.
The bureau issued warnings that heavy rain could lead to flash flooding in northern parts of the South Coast, the southern Illawarra, the eastern Southern Tablelands and the far northeast of the districts of the Snowy Mountains, from Saturday morning to Sunday.
20 to 45mm of rain is expected around Sydney on Saturday, with 3 to 20mm forecast for Sunday.
“Rainfall over six hours totals between 70 and 90 mm, with isolated 100 to 120 mm possible. 24 hour totals between 80 and 120 mm are likely and isolated falls of up to 200 mm are possible in the ranges,” the forecast states.
NSW Police are urging residents to “consider staying out of the water and avoiding walking near areas exposed to waves”.
Sydney has broken its rainfall record for early May with almost 150mm recorded in the Observatory Hill gauge since the start of the month.
The bureau estimates up to four millimeters could fall on Monday with a 20 percent chance of rain on Tuesday.
If the rain clouds stay away, it will end Sydney’s 13-day wet streak.
Storms over the weekend are also expected to bring rain to other parts of the country, from Queensland to Western Australia.
OTHER STATES
Meanwhile, the weekend storm is also expected to bring rain to other parts of the country, with Queensland expected to face rain and thunderstorms.
South-east Queensland is expected to face the majority of the state’s deluge, with Brisbane expected to remain wet on Saturday and Sunday.
Canberra, as well as northern and eastern parts of Victoria, will also face a full weekend of rain.
In WA, thunderstorms were forecast for Friday evening in the Margaret River and Busselton areas.
But residents were shocked at 4 p.m. local time when a tornado ripped through the town of Bunbury, causing widespread damage and knocking out power to thousands of homes.
A PCYC building with dozens of young people inside was completely destroyed and many people were injured.
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