Sydney is experiencing its wettest year on record as widespread drenching rain puts a lot of parts of Western New South Wales on flood alert.
The previous annual record of 2,194 mm of rain, which had been in place since 1950, was broken at 12.30 pm on Thursday after 27.2 mm of rain fell at Sydney's Observatory Hill Bureau of Meteorology station since 9 am.
The rain fell in about 90 minutes, beginning at 11 am.
More rain is expected to fall before the end of the year, with nearly three months remaining in 2022 and the declaration of a third consecutive La Ni a by the BoM in September.
Sydney had its wettest July on record this year after only two weeks, passing the 1950 record of 336.1 mm on the way to a total of 404 mm.
The continuing deluge will see rivers on and west of the great dividing range hit by moderate to major flooding, affecting towns including Bathurst, Dubbo and Tamworth.
There was a severe weather warning for heavy rain and thunderstorms across inland NSW, with no reprieve in sight this week.
Much of the state was expected to see showers and thunderstorms on Thursday afternoon, with the south-west set for severe storms, heavy rainfall, possible hail and damaging winds.
The State Emergency Service s shift to the Australian Warning System last month is seeing its first test, with advice and watch and act warnings issued around the state.
The SES assistant commander, Sean Kearns, said there were more than 40 warnings, with particular concerns about flooding in the communities of Forbes, Warren, Dubbo, Nyngan and Bathurst.
He told Nine s Today that the weather system is watching as it moves across metropolitan areas on the east coast.
The flood recovery minister, Steph Cooke, said there were more than 500 SES volunteers in the field, and there were more than 500 SES volunteers in the state.
She said our landscapes are entirely saturated, our dams are basically full, and our river systems are also full.
Farmers were concerned that the latest deluge would destroy another crop and graziers were warned to protect their stock from the wind and rain.
The BoM warned of the risks of lambs and sheep being exposed to these conditions.
Many NSW towns had been dealing with renewed flooding, including the town of Warren, where major flooding was taking place on the Macquarie River.
It hasn't been hammering with rain but we have had a lot of rain consistently since Christmas, so it just doesn't have a chance to dry out, said Carolyn Monkley, Macquarie Caravan Park owner.
Rainfall here is completely different to the rainfall on the coast. A couple of inches out here makes it very soggy. Other towns of concern included Condobolin, Nyngan, Cobar, Bourke, Wanaaring and Brewarrina.
On Thursday, there were flood warnings across the inland catchments, including Namoi, Macquarie, Bogan, Lachlan, Murrumbidgee, Murray, Edward, Culgoa, Birrie, Bokhara, Warrego, Paroo, Barwon, Darling, Macintyre and Snowy.
On Thursday there was minor flooding predicted in western Sydney's Hawkesbury-Nepean region.
With risings expected, coastal catchments including the Wollombi Brook, Hawkesbury and Hunter, and the Hunter River were being monitored.