Some Illawarra sporting fields are off limits and the races at Kembla Grange have been postponed after rain soaked the region on Wednesday night – and there’s more wet weather on the way.
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A weak coastal trough with onshore winds drove showers onto the coast, delivering some much-needed rainfall to parched parts of the region during the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday.
Some suburbs had their heaviest totals in about four months.
The region’s heaviest rainfall was recorded at Point Perpendicular, an exposed coastal weather station on the Beecroft Peninsula at the entrance to Jervis Bay, where 100mm fell in the 24-hour period.
That total was Point Perpendicular’s wettest day so far this year.
Wollongong’s automatic weather station at Albion Park recorded 32mm to 9am on Thursday – the site’s heaviest 24-hour total since February 26.
Nearby Kiama also had its wettest day in four months, with 47.4mm tipped out of the rain gauge there.
Elsewhere, 55mm was recorded at Warilla (Little Lake), while 42mm fell at Port Kembla and the coastal Bellambi weather station picked up 24mm.
Rainfall totals were hit-and-miss, with lighter falls registered away from the coast – including just 3.4mm at Nowra and 7.6mm at Moss Vale.
Thursday’s race meeting at Kembla Grange has been postponed after an early-morning track inspection deemed it unsafe for racing.
Officials had raised concerns with some sections of the track on Wednesday afternoon, following “significant rainfall”.
All Shellharbour City Council and Wollongong City Council sporting fields are closed on Thursday.
A dry start to the year
The rain comes as the latest mapping from the Bureau of Meteorology showed the lowest rainfall deficiencies on record for much of the region in the 14 months to the end of May.
On Wednesday, Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said some areas near Sydney were having their driest start to a year since 1965 – including Picton, which, as of Wednesday morning, had only registered 159.6mm so far this year.
A further 6mm fell in Picton during the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday.
More rain forecast on Thursday
Looking ahead, Wollongong can expect a near 100 per cent chance of rain on Thursday, easing in the afternoon and clearing by the evening.
There’s also the chance of a thunderstorm. Up to 20mm of rain is possible in the city, according to the bureau.
The should have disappeared by Friday, with a partly cloudy day expected in Wollongong.
The weekend is tipped to be sunny, with a forecast maximum of 17 degrees in the city on Saturday and 16 on Sunday.
Andrew Pearson
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
