Wild winds, heavy rain and big waves are forecast to hit the Illawarra from Monday afternoon as a severe weather has been issued for the region.
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Damaging winds averaging 60 to 70 km/h with peak gusts in excess of 90 km/h are possible over the coastal fringe of the Illawarra and expected to gradually ease during Wednesday.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued the warning on Monday afternoon and also reminded people of predicted rough surf which may lead to localised damage and coastal erosion from Tuesday afternoon.
South and southeast facing parts of the coast are most at risk.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Gabrielle Woodhouse said there was a trough off the South Coast of NSW which will deepen into a low-pressure system over the course of Monday and Tuesday.
"On Monday morning, there is fairly persistent rainfall across the South Coast and Snowy Mountains which will spread further north to affect the Illawarra later today and into Tuesday," she said.
"There is a risk of thunderstorm activity but that will likely develop later tonight.
"There might be some rumbles but it is more likely the thunderstorm will be over the water.
"On Tuesday, we will see very windy conditions as well as the rainfall, particularly for coastal locations such as Wollongong, Kiama and Jervis Bay."
Across the Illawarra, a couple of millimetres of rain is predicted to fall on Monday.
On Tuesday, on the coastal fringes between 10-15mm of rain is expected with a chance of up to 40mm falling.
The top temperature will be 16 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"It will be wet and windy along the coast," Ms Woodhouse said.
"When there is potential low development, the temperature and conditions can change reasonably rapidly so it is best to stay up to date on the BoM's website and to heed the advise of emergency services."
Ms Woodhouse said the steady rainfall over coming days could cause ponding of water on roads and recommended to follow the advise of emergency services which includes not driving through floodwater.
She said the amount of rainfall was unlikely to cause large river rises or minor flooding because the catchments were dry.
Ms Woodhouse said the strong winds would likely cause large and powerful waves.
"Those will pick up tomorrow," she said. "There is a hazardous surf warning in place, which is likely to continue throughout the week.
"There is the potential to see wave heights of above five metres."
Surf and swell conditions are expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, boating, and swimming in the Illawarra.
The advise is to not go rock fishing and to stay out of the water.
Director of Lifesaving at Surf Life Saving NSW Joel Wiseman said that conditions along the coast would be very dangerous for the next few days.
"During this extreme weather event we urge members of the public to stay away from the coastline and not to engage in risky coastal activities. If people put themselves in danger in these extreme conditions, there's a real possibility that lifesavers will not be able to save them," said Joel Wiseman.
Surf Life Saving NSW has emergency call-out teams, duty officers and surf rescue assets on standby. The Surf Rescue 30 Offshore Rescue Boat based in Sydney, Surf Rescue 40 and Surf Rescue 50 jetboats and crews will also be on standby in Ballina and Kiama to respond to any critical coastal incidents.
Supporting the offshore rescue boats will be RWC (jetski) operations and the SLSNSW State Operations Centre will be operational between 7am and 5pm - with support services extended as required. Surf Rescue emergency call-out teams will remain on high alert.
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