Sydney set for two more weeks of rain as system lingers over east coast

The unrelenting rain that has lingered over Sydney for weeks is forecast to stick around, with the possibility of severe thunderstorms over the weekend.

Sydney is reportedly just half way through a two-week stretch of rainy days, with about 130mm of rain recorded at the Sydney Observatory in the first seven days of May.

A “stubborn high pressure system” is keeping a large amount of moisture the atmosphere over the east of the country this week, WeatherZone reports.

While most of the wet weather is destined for NSW this weekend, rain will also spill into southern parts of Queensland and northern and eastern parts of Victoria, Angus Hines, senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Over in WA, while thunderstorms are predicted on Friday evening in and south of Perth, they should dry up for the weekend.

Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane will not be as lucky, with the weather expected to remain wet for Mother’s Day on Sunday.

“But the wet weather should have cleared out of Melbourne for some relatively fine conditions there, then fine and sunny through South Australia, Northern Territory, Western Australia and a lot of Queensland as well, away from the south east,” Mr Hines said.

In NSW, a severe weather warning has been issued for the heavy rainfall expected this weekend in southern parts of the Illawarra, the south coast and the far east of the Southern Tablelands, Sarah Scully, senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said.

“There’s also the potential for severe thunderstorms about the Sydney metropolitan and the Illawarra to bring heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding,” she said.

Ms Scully said there was the potential for up to 200mm of rain within 24 hours in some southern parts of the state and that a flood watch would be issued.

Despite the wet weather forecast for this weekend, some parts of the country are in for some relief, with the bureau forecasting that below average rainfall for most of the country is likely for the rest of this month.

The latest long range forecast expects an equal chance of either above or below median rainfall during June and July.

Warmer than usual days and nights are likely across much of the country, with some cooler than average nights likely in the parts on the southern mainland during May.

The long-range forecast is influenced by several factors, including record-warm oceans globally and a possible developing positive Indian Ocean Dipole event.