Why rain along Australia’s east coast could ‘last months’

Experts are warning it may be months before we get any relief from the nightmare rain that is drenching millions of us.

With thousands of residents forced to leave their homes amid flood alerts, there are now fears the deluge of heavy rainfall across New South Wales could last until August.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, heavy rain fell across the Hunter, Central Coast, Sydney, Illawarra and south coast on Tuesday, with up to 100mm of rain recorded in the Sydney’s northern suburbs alone.

Homes, businesses and roads have been flooded while some rivers are still rising, as an east coast low off the Hunter Coast is expected to intensify further while slowly moving southwards.

And University of Sydney climate expert Nandini Ramesh told the ABC some parts of Sydney will not receive a reprieve until August.

Flooding on Pittwater Road in North Manly on Tuesday. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“Forecasts for the La Niña event say that it’s going to persist until May. But then the wintertime [after that] is when we get most of our rain,” said Dr Ramesh.

On Tuesday, numerous flood warnings from BOM remained in place across eastern NSW along with severe weather warnings and hazardous surf warnings.

Thunderstorms are expected over the north-east until the middle of the week, with severe thunderstorms possible on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, more than 50,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes across NSW and a further 18,000 are on alert as the state braces for another day of devastation.

Overnight, land slippages threatened homes, hundreds of cars became trapped on flooded roads and evacuation orders were issued as floodwaters continued to rise across Sydney’s northern and western suburbs, the Hunter Valley and Kempsey.

Flood levels in parts of the NSW capital are expected to reach new highs not seen since March 1978, with more than 65 evacuation orders now in place.

An east coast low has continued to deepen off the Hunter Coast and tracked to the south-southeast overnight, and was expected to continue into Wednesday.

Strong, gusty southerly winds of up to 90km/hr developed with a severe weather warning for damaging winds in place for people in Illawarra and parts of Hunter, Metropolitan, South Coast, Southern Tablelands and Snowy Mountains Forecast Districts. Residents have been urged not to travel.

Large and powerful seas are also expected until Thursday with “very heavy surf” causing “likely” coastal erosion for southerly facing beaches within the South Coast, Illawarra and Sydney Metropolitan districts.

Communities should be prepared for flood impacts and are encouraged to keep up to date with the latest forecasts and warnings on the Bureau’s website and BOM Weather app and always follow the advice of emergency services.