Big wet returns: Giant storm system on target for a direct hit on the east coast as weary residents still battle floods caused by the heaviest downpours in three decades
- A category three cyclone is gathering pace as it tracks past New Caledonia
- Tropical cyclone Uesi could reach category-3 strength by Tuesday afternoon
- Joint Typhoon Warning Centre said storm could head towards NSW coast
- Bureau of Meteorology said the storm was 'several days out' from Australia
- But the bureau said NSW could see more severe weather if storm tracks west
A category three cyclone is expected to bring more torrential rain to Sydney this week just days after the city copped its heaviest downpour in 30 years.
About 65,000 homes and businesses in the city were still without power on Tuesday morning after 400mm of rain fell on parts of the state on Sunday.
Multiple severe weather warnings issued by the Bureau of Meteorology remain in place on Tuesday morning across NSW - including the Hunter, Illawarra, and south coast regions.
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Waves are pictured lapping the shore near to homes in Collaroy on Sydney's northern beaches on Monday. Sydney's heaviest downpour on 30 years over the weekend could be followed by more misery from tropical cyclone Uesi
As the ferocious weather system gathers over New Caledonia, forecasters are predicting tropical cyclone Uesi could impact the Australian coast
Forecasters are now predicting tropical cyclone Uesi - which is forecast to turn from a category-2 to a category-3 tropical cyclone by Tuesday afternoon - could impact the Australian east coast.
'The system is several days out,' BoM forecaster Gabrielle Woodhouse told Daily Mail Australia.
'But if the system comes west we could see hazardous surf in New South Wales and Lord Howe Island.'
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Weatherzone said the dangerous surf could be accompanied by strong winds and more heavy rain - although there are no estimates yet about how much rainfall there will be.
The system is as of Monday night being tracked by authorities in Fiji, and Ms Woodhouse said it is still unclear in which direction the cyclone will head.
'Currently all the information being put out on Uesi by Fiji is that the system will track further south - but where it goes from there is a bigger unknown,' she said.
The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre has said though the storm - even in a weakened state - are on track to head south-westerly to the NSW coast.
People watch rough ocean conditions at Bronte Beach in Sydney on Monday. Cyclone Uesi could bring more hazardous surf and strong winds to Australia's east coast
Map-based projections released by the organisation showed the system gathering pace north-west of New Caledonia before growing in size as it approaches the NSW/ Queensland border.
In the more advanced stages of the cyclone's development, winds could reach speeds of 55 knots - 101km/h.
For reference, wind speeds over the weekend reached 107km/h off the coast of Sydney during the record-breaking deluge.
The average Sydney rainfall for the month of February is 117mm.
Sydney dam levels bounce back after years of crippling drought
Dam levels across greater Sydney have risen by more than 20 percentage points amid heavy weekend rainfall, with enough water for as much as 150,000 Olympic-size swimming pools flowing into Warragamba Dam.
Sydney, the Central Coast and the Blue Mountains were soaked after receiving between 200mm and 400mm of rain from 9am Friday to 5pm Sunday, with additional rain expected on Monday and through the week.
The Bureau of Meteorology suggested on Sunday that Sydney had not experienced such rainfall since before the new millennium.
Water NSW data on Monday morning showed that greater Sydney dam levels were at 64.2 per cent, up from 41.9 per cent in seven days.
Aerial image of Wivenhoe Dam near Brisbane releasing water from its spillway
Warragamba Dam recouped a year's worth of water in one weekend, rising 17.7 percentage points to sit at 60.7 per cent at 10.30am on Monday. Some 360,000 megalitres of water flowed into the dam - almost 150,000 swimming pools.
The dam this time last year was 61.4 per cent full.
Water NSW in a statement on Sunday said the ash and debris generated by recent bushfires around the Warragamba area would not affect water quality.
Two silt curtains are in place to intercept ash run-off.
Warragamba Dam supplied Lake Burragorang - the primary reservoir supplying water to the city
'While it is likely some ash and debris has been washed into the upper reaches of the Warragamba system, there is no impact on the water quality being supplied for treatment. Any surface debris is being avoided by extracting water from 30m below the surface as a precaution,' WaterNSW said in a statement.
Prospect Dam is more than 90 per cent full, while Woronora Dam to Sydney's south is almost 60 per cent full, jumping 25 percentage points.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast more severe weather conditions on Monday with heavy rains, strong winds and damaging surf possible along the entirety of the NSW coast and inland southern NSW.
Flash flooding remains a possibility in several NSW regions, including Sydney.
Map-based projections released by the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre showed the system gathering pace north-west of New Caledonia
The storm caused electricity issues across the city with 150,000 homes and businesses cut off on Sunday night.
By Tuesday morning, Ausgrid still had 59,000 homes and businesses without power.
While Endeavour Energy was scrambling to restore power for 5,000 customers.
The power was restored to homes primarily in Sydney's north, the northern beaches, eastern suburbs, south and south-west, and the Central Coast and Newcastle.
But the electricity company warned some residents could be kept in the dark 'for the next few days as we recover from the storm'.
A number of roads are also closed as crews work to clear debris caused by the storm, those include: Oxford Falls Road at Oxford Falls, North Rocks Road at Parramatta and Henry Lawson Drive between Cheatle Street, East Hills and Picnic Point Road.
The Metro North West Line between Chatswood and Macquarie University has been replaced with buses due to flooding.
