New South Wales
New South Wales severe weather & warning links.
Find NSW storm and flood information, with local radar and forecast shortcuts for Sydney, the coast and inland centres. Keep official incident advice beside the weather map.
Current Bureau of Meteorology warnings for New South Wales and the ACT
5 current warnings listed by the Bureau of Meteorology.
| Type | Warning | Issued |
|---|---|---|
| Severe thunderstorm | Severe Thunderstorm Warning for parts of Northern Rivers Forecast District. | |
| Flood | Minor Flood Warning for the Warrego River (NSW) | |
| Flood | Initial Minor Flood Warning for the Paroo River (NSW) | |
| Flood | Final Flood Warning for the Weir River | |
| Marine and coastal | Marine Wind Warning Summary for New South Wales |
Warning titles and issue times from the Bureau of Meteorology's public warnings feed, © Commonwealth of Australia (terms), shown with links only: read each warning on the Bureau's site. Checked every 10 minutes; last received . Atmosphr is not affiliated with the Bureau.
Official information first
This page is a directory, not a live warning feed. Open BOM to check the current warning area and issue time, and NSW SES for local information. Atmosphr does not issue or reproduce official emergency warnings here.
NSW weather hazards and when they occur
New South Wales combines a long, exposed coast, big river systems and extensive bushland. These are the hazards its agencies plan for most often.
| Hazard | Typical season | Where in the state | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Severe storms | NSW SES storm season runs from September to April, though major storms can happen at any time | Statewide: damaging winds, large hail and flash flooding | NSW SES: storm season |
| East coast lows | Any time of year, more often in autumn and winter and most often in June. They can intensify within 12 to 24 hours. | Coast and ranges; the Bureau notes they affect southern Queensland, NSW and eastern Victoria | BOM: east coast lows |
| Riverine and flash flooding | After heavy or prolonged rain | River valleys such as the Northern Rivers and Hawkesbury-Nepean, plus urban creeks | NSW SES |
| Damaging surf and coastal erosion | During east coast lows and storms | Open beaches and coastal property | BOM warnings (severe weather warnings) |
| Bushfire | Hot, dry and windy days | Bushland statewide, including the urban fringe | NSW Rural Fire Service: fire danger ratings and total fire bans |
NSW events worth knowing
- Floods of February to April 2022. From 22 February a low-pressure system produced heavy to torrential rain along the coast, followed by two east coast lows. The Wilsons River at Lismore peaked above 14.4 m, more than 2 m above the previous record set in 1890, and Lismore flooded twice within weeks. The Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment had its wettest 9-day period on record to 9 March. The AIDR case study notes that two days before the Lismore peak, the forecast was for minor to moderate flooding: flood forecasts change as rain falls, so keep checking the latest warning.
- Black Summer, 2019 to 2020. The worst bushfire season NSW has recorded. More than 11,400 bush and grass fires burned between 1 July 2019 and 31 March 2020; 26 lives were lost and 2,448 homes were destroyed.
Official NSW channels
- NSW SES: call 132 500 for emergency help in a flood, storm or tsunami, and 000 if life is at risk. NSW SES warnings are available through the Hazards Near Me app, where you can set watch zones for floods and severe weather.
- Fire: the NSW Rural Fire Service publishes daily fire danger ratings and total fire bans.
- Warning levels: emergency services use the Australian Warning System. the Queensland Government’s explanation of the national system sets out the three levels: Advice (yellow), meaning an incident has started with no immediate danger; Watch and Act (orange), a heightened threat where you should start taking action; and Emergency Warning (red), the highest level, where you may be in danger and need to act immediately.
- Fire danger: since 1 September 2022 Australia has used the Australian Fire Danger Rating System. Its four levels are Moderate (plan and prepare), High (prepare to act), Extreme (take action now to protect your life and property) and Catastrophic (for your survival, leave bush fire risk areas).
- Weather warnings: BOM warnings, including severe thunderstorm warnings and severe weather warnings for damaging waves.
Using Atmosphr in NSW
Most of NSW is on UTC+10 and observes daylight saving. Broken Hill in the far west uses Australian Central time (UTC+9:30), so check the time shown with any forecast there. Atmosphr requests each forecast in the selected place’s local time zone.
East coast lows and showery storms can make conditions differ sharply along the coast, so open each place separately, starting with Sydney or the NSW forecast hub. Atmosphr shows Open-Meteo model forecasts and RainViewer radar frames from the recent past. It does not issue warnings, and a quiet map is not an all-clear. River heights and flood classes come only from official flood warnings.
Sydney, coastal journeys and inland forecasts
A Sydney forecast is a starting point for Sydney. For journeys north or south, open Newcastle, Coffs Harbour or Wollongong separately and use the location search for stops between them.
For Northern Rivers travel, begin with NSW SES information and look up the specific community. The Lismore shortcut is a model forecast, not a river-height observation or flood evacuation notice.
For inland work, compare the forecast at the work location with the access route. Dubbo and Wagga Wagga are separate forecast points; a wide radar view supplies context, not street-level rainfall totals.
Local forecasts and rain radar
| Location | Model weather | Recent radar |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney | Sydney 7-day forecast | Sydney radar |
| Newcastle | Newcastle 7-day forecast | Newcastle radar |
| Wollongong | Wollongong 7-day forecast | Wollongong radar |
| Coffs Harbour | Coffs Harbour 7-day forecast | Coffs Harbour radar |
| Lismore | Lismore 7-day forecast | Lismore radar |
| Dubbo | Dubbo 7-day forecast | Dubbo radar |
| Wagga Wagga | Wagga Wagga 7-day forecast | Wagga Wagga radar |
Today’s forecast for New South Wales towns. Each forecast link opens that town’s 7-day forecast page. The radar link opens recent RainViewer composite imagery, including an old BOM-style layout. It is not a station-specific BOM product.
Search another town or suburb · Understand radar coverage and colour
Plan an activity
Sources and further reading
- BOM warnings and alerts
- NSW SES
- NSW SES flood information
- NSW SES: storm season
- BOM: east coast lows
- NSW SES
- NSW Rural Fire Service: fire danger ratings and total fire bans
- Australian Fire Danger Rating System
- Queensland Disaster Management: watch for the warnings
- AIDR Knowledge Hub: New South Wales floods 2022
- AIDR Knowledge Hub: Black Summer bushfires, NSW, 2019 to 2020
- Tourism Australia: Australian time zones