Australia Weather News

Parts of New South Wales have been warned to prepare for wild weather overnight as a low-pressure system from Tasmania gets set to batter northern parts of the state.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) warned that damaging winds were likely to hit the Mid North Coast, Illawarra, Central Tablelands, Hunter and Northern Tablelands this evening, with winds averaging 50 to 70 kilometres per hour, and gusts up to 90kph predicted.

It is expected that the winds will ease on Saturday evening.

A severe weather warning was issued for an area stretching from the Blue Mountains to Tenterfield in the north, as inland parts of the state deals with rising floodwaters.

As the area around Forbes continues to struggle with flooding, communities along the Lachlan River are also dealing with the results of the heavy rain.

People living at the Willow Bend Aboriginal Mission at Condobolin have begun leaving ahead of an expected Lachlan River peak of 7.2 metres next Wednesday.

Across the state, flood warnings remain in place for the Lachlan, Macquarie, Peel and Namoi, Bogan, Murrumbidgee, Murray, Warrego, Paroo, Belubula and Barwon-Darling rivers.

NSW Deputy Premier Troy Grant said the severe storms continuing to hit South Australia were also on people minds.

"They are fearing increased rain up to 90mm in this second wave from the South Australian front currently," he said.

"Exactly where that lands will have different impacts throughout the catchment across the Lachlan, and there will be a different response that is needed.

"This is a situation that will remain fluid and will ebb and flow, depending on what the weather throws at us."

With some dams in the area already more than full, some locals also questioned the current dam release strategy.

Mr Grant said despite changes in the last 12 months, he did not believe it had contributed to the flooding in the state's central west.

"We heard one complaint from a local who thought the management had contributed to a rise in the peaks," Mr Grant said.

"That was argued against by countless numbers of landholders who came up to me the following day and said they'd never seen the water management at the dam better."