Parts of Canberra have started to see rain, bringing water into contact with parched land and offering a break from the summer's stifling temperatures as substantial falls are recorded in parts of NSW.
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Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Helen Kirkup said there were showers streaming over the south eastern area, with rain expected to continue overnight and into Sunday.
"It is possible that 50 to 70 millimetres [of rain] isn't out of the question [for Canberra], it just won't be widespread," Ms Kirkup said.
"Some people will get a lot more, some will get less. It's just one of those systems."
Braidwood, about 50 kilometres to Canberra's east, has recorded five millimetres of rain since 9am on Saturday, while Canberra Airport has seen 0.2 millimetres in the same period.
A slow-moving inland trough has led to a significant amount of thunderstorms to the north-west of the ACT on Saturday. Thunderstorms are not likely for Canberra on Sunday, but are possible on Monday, Ms Kirkup said.
The moisture over the ACT has been driven by a surface trough off the south coast, which has been pushing further south. Wind wrapping around the trough has brought rainfall to the east of the ACT.
"The cloud cover is going to keep a cap on the temperatures. Looking at 18 as a maximum tomorrow, but 25 on Monday, but that will be more so later in the day when we see a break in the clouds," she said.
Between 25 and 45 millimetres of rain has been forecast for Canberra on Sunday.
"It's looking good for the fire grounds," Ms Kirkup said.
Temperatures in Canberra should stay in the mid to high-30s throughout the week.
Meanwhile, hundreds of millimetres of rain is set to lash Sydney and the surrounding regions, with NSW facing the most torrential downpour since the late 1990s.
Flash flooding, monster waves and high winds are expected to batter NSW at the weekend as emergency services brace for the worst.
The Bureau of Meteorology said about 100 millimetres of rain is expected across parts of the state on Saturday - and double that could fall on Sunday - because of an east coast low.
"The rainfall will be variable but hundreds of millimetres. It's not something we see that often," the bureau's acting NSW state manager Jane Golding said.
"The multi-day rainfall from this event looks like much more than what we had during the June 2016 east coast low which was our last significant east coast low.
with AAP
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
