'Line of storms': Burst of wild weather ahead for Sydney, eastern NSW
Sydney and eastern NSW are likely to be battered by damaging winds and potentially severe thunderstorms on Thursday as a cold front sweeps across the state.
Jordan Notara, a senior forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology, said the front would likely be fast-moving and steer "a line of storms" over Sydney from early afternoon into the evening.
Watch out for warnings of wild weather expected to be updated for Sydney and eastern NSW on Thursday.Credit:Ben Rushton
"There may be one or two isolated pockets of instability" that could produce large hail stones, although the main threat may be from the strong winds, Mr Notara said.
Picking just where thunderstorms will develop is tricky because of the dynamic nature of the system, he said. Forecasts and warnings will be revised early on Thursday.
The burst of wild weather will be generated from an intensifying low pressure system that has already delivered strong winds to South Australia and bring the possibility of flashfloods to Victoria.
For Sydney, the storm risk will come after another warm day, with temperatures forecast to reach 30 degrees ahead of the front. The October average maximum at Observatory Hill is 22.2 degrees.
Gusty showers should bring between 2-6 millimetres of rain on Thursday.
Forecast of accumulated rain between Tuesday and Friday. Credit:Weatherzone
Conditions will settle after the front moves through, bringing mild, mostly sunny days with tops of 23-25 degrees for Sydney from Friday to Sunday.
Fire danger ratings are "high" for the Sydney metropolitan region for Thursday to Sunday, with similar readings for the Greater Hunter, New England, Northern Slopes and the Far North Coast, among other regions. Ratings for the rest of NSW remain low to moderate for those days.
Peter Hannam writes on environment issues for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.