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Sunday 18th of May 9.35a.m. Cold and grey. 15C / 59.2F. Showers developing. Windy. Marine wind + Hazardous surf warnings.
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Flooding rains, snow ahead for Australia's east, but farmers in South Australia, Victoria miss out again
1 day ago
By ABC meteorologist Tom Saunders
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Sydney has seen just three dry days out of the past 25. (ABC News: Tom Saunders)
Heavy rain will drench Australia's east coast next week, but for farmers across drought-ravaged South Australia, Victoria and south-west New South Wales, the long wait for relief continues.
This pattern has become all too familiar since early 2024, a 16-month spell which has delivered nearly 2,200 millimetres of rain to Sydney but only 315mm to Adelaide.
And the disparity between the two regions is about to increase further, as two separate systems lead to a five-day soaking capable of bringing hundreds of millimetres and possible flooding to stretches of the NSW coast.
Heavy rain to prolong wet spell
Scattered showers and thunderstorms have been ongoing across eastern NSW for nine consecutive days, and Sydney has only recorded three dry days out of the past 25.
While becoming a nuisance, the prolonged spell of damp weather has so far not caused significant flooding. However, the showery activity will increase on Sunday and transition to areas of heavy rain by Monday.
The upgrade will result from a wave of cold air from the Southern Ocean running into relatively warm and humid air off the Tasman Sea.
This interaction will lead to a low-pressure trough deepening off the coast on Monday — the typical set-up for heavy cool season rain along Australia's eastern seaboard.
It's too early to forecast the exact location of the heaviest falls through the later half of the week, but one of the more likely scenarios is the rainband will drift slowly south.
This track down the coast would result in hundreds of millimetres, and possible flooding from Wednesday to Friday from Sydney to the south coast.![]()
