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Australia's east coast is set to be hammered with a week of wild weather as heavy rain sweeps across the country.

Byron Bay, on the New South Wales coast, was hit with the heaviest rainfall it has seen in 40 years, with 281mm falling in the area overnight.

The torrential downpour wreaked havoc through the city with residents waking to widespread flooding through the streets and many cars submerged beneath the murky water. 

Weatherzone meteorologist Craig McIntosh said Sydenysiders should brace themselves for a similar downpour of Sunday as the system makes its way south. 

A severe weather warning has been issued for much of the NSW coast on Friday, stretching 1000km from Brisbane to Sydney, as a coastal trough makes its way down the northern New South Wales coast. 

Heavy rainfall and damaging winds are expected for the Mid North Coast, Metropolitan, Illawarra and parts of Northern Rivers, Hunter, Central Tablelands and Northern Tablelands. 

'This trough is expected to deepen and gradually shift southwards, increasing rainfall along the central and southern parts of the coast and adjacent ranges during Friday and over the weekend,' a Bureau of Meteorology spokesman said.

Byron Bay has already experienced the deluge, with streets flooded, cars submerged after 107mm of rain fell in the area in the past 24 hours

A severe weather warning is in place across New South Wales. Byron Bay has already experienced the deluge, with streets flooded, cars submerged

Byron Bay residents were hammered overnight with a powerful downpour (Pictured: A submerged in Byron Bay)

'For some areas, intense rainfall rates and gusty winds are possible with thunderstorm activity or with the formation of mesoscale lows embedded within the coastal trough.'

Syndeysiders also had to reach for their wet weather gear on Friday morning after a drenching overnight.  

Meteorologists have warned both Sydney and Brisbane are expected to feel a winter chill over the next few days as the mercury looks set to drop with the torrential downpour lingering well into the weekend. 

Mr McIntosh said Sydney had experienced its wettest day since 2018 with 45mm of rainfall by 9am on Friday.

However, he said Sunday would likely be far worse as the weather system makes its way south. 

He said there was a chance the downpour could be similar to what Byron Bay saw on Friday.

Forecasters are predicting up to 90mm of rain in Sydney on Saturday alone.  

Friday morning was grim in Sydney, commuters were seen hiding under their umbrellas as they made their way into their offices 

A keen swimmer walks back from the beach holding an umbrella during heavy rain in Coogee, Sydney, on Friday morning

Sydneysiders woke to heavy rain on Friday morning, many were forced to make their morning commute with umbrellas in tow

Saturday will see the worst of the rain dumped on Australia's east coast (pictured) with downpours from Rockhampton all the way to Victoria's East Gippsland

Pedestrians hold umbrellas during wet weather in Sydney, Friday, February 7

The 'heavy bursts of intense rainfall' could cause dangerous driving conditions and flash flooding, Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Mike Funnel said. 

Commuters were also hit with delays as they made their way to work on Friday morning.

Trains on the inner-west line were experiencing delays due to the wet weather. A fallen branch also caused delays on the Northshore line, near Artarmon.

The deluge of wet weather has already helped fire-ravaged communities, with one third of blazes in NSW and the ACT being put out by the rain, NSW Rural Fire Service said. 

'It going to be a huge amount of rain,' Mr Funnel said.

'It's enough to extinguish some of the larger bushfires but not hard enough to fill up the dams, considering how dry the catchment has been.' 

Commuters were also hit with delays as they made their way to work on Friday morning. Trains on the inner-west line were experiencing delays due to the wet weather. A fallen branch also caused delays on the Northshore line, near Artarmon

A pedestrian holds an umbrella during heavy rain in Coogee, Sydney on Friday morning

Forecasters predicted 200mm of rain would batter south Queensland and the NSW coast (pictured) on Saturday

The downpour on Thursday night had extinguished about 20 blazes across NSW. 

NSW Rural Fire Service said there were still 42 fires burning and 17 are yet to be contained. 

In Brisbane, the torrential rain has been wrecking havoc with more than 50mm of rain hitting the city in 24 hours.

A burst sewer pipe closed a northbound lane on Centenary Highway -  a major highway in Brisbane - during the peak hour on Friday morning. The lane has since opened, however, traffic is crawling.

Communities near Tin Can Bay, in the Wide Bay-Burnett region, recorded falls of more than 200mm - eight inches in the old measure - in the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday. 

Flood warnings have been put in place for parts of New South Wales and Queensland, with residents bracing for a possible 500mm of rain that could fall on some areas.

Large puddles had filled the streets in central Sydney on Friday morning after heavy rain pummeled the city overnight

Where did Summer go? Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House were difficult to see through the stormy conditions on Friday morning

Western Australian residents are also bracing wild weather as a cyclone is expected to hit on Saturday

Supermarket shelves have been stripped as residents prepare to bunker down for the weekend

Mount Elliott, in the Wide Bay region in Queensland, has been dumped with 342mm between 6pm Tuesday and 1am Thursday.

Farmers in drought-stricken areas in the north of NSW and the south of Queensland were celebrating the recent downpour. 

National Farmers Federation president Fiona Simson told The Australian the rain came 'at almost the exact right time of year'.  

'Farmers will be hoping that many millimetres of rain fall to replenish depleted soil moisture profiles and set up for the winter cropping season,' she said. 

Grain Growers Ltd chief executive David McKeon said some farmers on properties in the Liverpool Plains in northern NSW and central Queensland and the Darling Downs planted sorghum thanks to the rain. 

Western Australian residents are also bracing wild weather as a cyclone is expected to hit on Saturday. 

Cyclone Damien was upgraded to a category four overnight, the second-highest intensity, with wind gusts of up to 279kph expected.

The cyclone has been tracking towards the Pilbara coast, building in intensity as it makes it way inland.

Floods will be seen across Queensland NSW as the states are battered by drenching rain (pictured, a previous flood in Queensland)

The rainfall was caused by a coastal trough near the northern New South Wales coast

In western NSW, heavy rains caused chaos on the roads but delighted locals who had suffered months of prolonged drought.    

Storms also whipped up dangerous surf conditions, with surfers warned to avoid the Hunter Coast, Sydney Coast, Illawarra Coast, Batemans Coast and Eden Coast. 

NSW Police Force, Marine Area Command said: 'People should consider staying out of the water and avoid walking near surf-exposed areas. 

A farmer in Bundaberg shared this picture online, showing her farm drenched by rain on Wednesday morning (pictured)

'Rock fishers should avoid coastal rock platforms exposed to the ocean and seek a safe location that is sheltered from the surf. 

'Boaters planning to cross shallow water and ocean bars should consider changing or delaying their voyage.'

Wind warnings were also put in place around Byron, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie. 

A flood watch was also issued for a number of areas along the north coast. 

The NSW State Emergency Services issued a grave warning for what it called 'severe weather', and pleaded with residents to act now to save lives.

Experts said the floods could be deadly, and warned drivers they could 'die within minutes' if they are not prepared. 

'Areas at high risk of heavy rain and possibly most extreme rain are most of the south-east coast of Queensland, the Sunshine Coast, Hinterland, Brisbane and Ipswich, the Gold Coast and the Scenic Rim,' it explained.   

'Serious flash flooding under extreme rainfall areas could cut main roads and flood some yards, streets, businesses and houses etc. We will issue and post stern warnings very quickly if we identify live risks.  

'Drive slower in rain and don't drive into flood waters - or you could die within minutes.' 

The south-east  of Queensland (pictured) will also be hit by torrential downpours, particularly around the Gold Coast - with flood warnings now in place

Brisbane and the Gold Coast (pictured) will be drenched with rainfall for at least seven days

Outdoor activities may have to be put on hold this weekend for people across the country as the torrential rain sets in. 

There is a high chance of showers on both Saturday and Sunday for Sydneysiders - with the storms lingering long into next week.

Melbourians have a few nice days of sunshine before the storms hit on Monday.

Brisbane has little chance of reprieve as the wet weather looks set to stay too. The chance of showers begins to dwindle later into the week, however, residents shouldn't pack away their wet weather gear just yet. 

There's a 70 per cent chance of rain in Canberra over the weekend, with temperatures dropping to a cool 20C most days.

Thunderstorms  are expected to smash Darwin over the weekend, however, heavy winds should begin to ease on Saturday afternoon.

Hobart seems to be missing the severe weather but it will miss out on sunshine too as low clouds linger over the city for most of the week. 

Whereas Adelaide and Perth have a high chance of sunshine.