The sun shone down on the Illawarra on Christmas morning, sending crowds to the beaches and families outside to enjoy their festive meals.
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But any outdoor evening plans were thwarted by rain and severe thunderstorms, which started rolling into the southern suburbs just after lunch.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe thunderstorm warning about 2pm, flagging large hailstones, heavy rainfall and damaging winds for parts of the Illawarra.
The Shoalhaven was forecast to be one of the worst areas affected, with flash flooding and damaging winds possible on Christmas night, the bureau said.
At the Bellambi Point weather radar, the temperature peaked at 23.9 degrees at 1pm, while in Albion Park it hit 25.7 at 12.30pm.
Showers are forecast to continue early on Boxing Day, before clearing to cooler temperatures and a partly cloudy day on Saturday.
A week out, New Year's Eve is predicted to be 21 degrees and cloudy in the Illawarra.