Storms and heavy rains forecast across NSW over the weekend

A wet and wild weekend is awaiting millions of residents in NSW as storms build across the country’s southeast.

The Bureau of Meteorology warned storms could strike throughout the state on Saturday and Sunday, particularly in Sydney and coastal regions.

The Harbour City is forecast to receive as much as 30mm of rain on Saturday and a further 50mm on Sunday, fed by a large high pressure system off Tasmania.

Rains were expected to intensify on Saturday evening in Sydney – sparking hazardous surf warnings, with persistent downpours across the state forecast for Sunday.

It comes after storms already drenched swathes of central NSW, including Hillston which received some 50mm of rain overnight and into early Saturday morning.

The Bureau warned thunderstorms could return in the central and northern inland regions on Saturday, with potentially heavy localised rainfalls and flash flooding.

To the north, Brisbane was likewise forecast for a high chance of rain showers throughout the weekend, though storms were unlikely.

The Bureau forecast up 3mm to fall on Brisbane on Saturday, with a 90 per cent chance of between 1-7mm forecast for the city on Sunday.

In Melbourne, not a drop of rain was forecast throughout the weekend and into next week, with the Windy City set to reach a high of just 18C.

Adelaide was likewise set for a dry weekend with a high on Sunday of 23C, while Canberra could get up to 15mm of rain on Sunday amid a high of 17C.

Dry but cloudy weather was forecast across the other capitals over the weekend, including in Darwin, Hobart, and Perth, which was smattered by rain during the week.